Search - Brazil :: Philosophy of Velocity

This band never ceases to amaze me...

A. Stoltz | illlinois | 10/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"surprisingly, being late in the year 2006, brazil are still a band under the radar. the band amazed me a year ago when i bought their debut album "a hostage in the meaning of life" (which came out in 2004) which sounded reminiscent of early at the drive-in and maybe a little sparta. although those influences were screaming in that album, brazil still put their own unique sound into the mix with the continuous use of piano and keyboards. simply put, that record is one of the best and unique records i've ever heard.



then i tried to find more material from them shortly thereafter and i did. i found that they released a 5 song ep back in 2002 called "dasein" so i immediately purchased and once again i was amazed. similiar to "hostage" but with a more raw and different sound to it.



so with that said, you better believe i put a lot of hype on their new album "the philosophy of velocity". let me tell you, when i first heard it i was confused and awed altogether. i thought, "what is this?" what i just heard was like nothing i've ever heard before and it definitely didn't sound like their previous album. i've owned this album for a day now and i've listened to it 3 times through and i still don't know what to say about it. except, that i want to hear it more... it's so weird, but beautiful altogether. it's strange because they don't sound exactly like ATDI anymore on this release, they sound more like the mars volta than anything on "philosophy...". is that a bad thing? hell no, it's not! i say that because jonathan newby's voice has gotten a higher pitch to it and the band experiment more on the guitar and sounds more prog rock which reminds me of the mars volta.



once again, the piano is used heavily on this record but all in all; it's a very experimental record. i can't help but to feel this is a concept record due to all the songs kind of having the same feel/atmosphere to them. not saying that they sound the same, because they definitely don't, but they all the tracks seem to flow into the next.



bottomline, this will probably be one of the most experimental records you'll hear this year (beside the volta of course) and will be on my top 20 of the year. basically, to people who are new to brazil; if you like at the drive-in, sparta, or the mars volta i guarantee you'll love this cd and band. great experimental music with piano flourishes with an overall haunting theme to it. good stuff and highly recommended to anyone with an open mind..."

Accessible Progressive music

TheRedSky81 | 11/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A lot of ppl have been comparing this band to the Mars Volta, which I don't agree with. Nobody sounds like the Mars Volta. No, Brazil has their own sound. At the center of their sound is the piano. The band plays a progressive style of rock that accompanies melodies and at times, catchy songs. I would compare their style to 70's rock but with a modern twist. This stuff sounds very epic with production from Dave Fridman(Flaming Lips, Thursday). Just check out the track 2 "Crime". I was sold after that track alone."

Re-Loused in the Comatorium

Luke Rounda | Lawrence, KS | 10/06/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jonathon Newby must have a set of pitch pipes tuned to Cedric Bixler's vocal cords, because there are times that his singing inflection is a dead ringer for the current Mars Volta vocalist's style. "The Philosophy of Velocity" itself plays like a sequel to that band's 2003 release, "De-Loused in the Comatorium"--a punk's brisk run through poppy fields planted with lyrical razorwire. Although Newby's lyrics are considerably more "down-to-earth" when put up against contemporaries like the Mars Volta, it's the uniquely energized crunch of this album that should earn Brazil a spot in today's music scene beyond "that band that sounds like At The Drive-In with a piano."



Their "Philosophy" bumps shoulders with various facets of Omar and Cedric's bands, but at all the right moments: opener "Crime (And The Antique Solution)" busts out of the start-gate with a punishing-yet-trippy think-it's-a-guitar riff and a vocal inertia that should win over naysayers within a few bars. The music is complex, but with stronger reliance on polyrhythm rather than the inclusion of "strange" rock instrumentation.



"A Year In Heaven"'s grand chording on piano suggests epic jazz-blues at first, but delivers a soupy feast of guitar experimentation and self-harmonizing from Newby, still underscored by the same piano. The song later enters an acoustic finger-plucked passage supported with woebegone electric piano arpeggios, then revs back up for a grand exit. Then we go down "The Remarkable Cholmondeley Chute System" in just under 50 seconds, and come across "Breathe," a song which bears little resemblance to the Pink Floyd song of the same name, except perhaps in spirit. Among the most straightforward rockers on "Philosophy," "Breathe" still manages to sound like nothing else being produced today. Even the Mars Volta don't sound like this anymore.



Few modern artists possess the fearlessness required to repeat the experiments of yesteryear, and even fewer of them have the talents to come out of such re-experiments with something listenable in hand. Brazil have done it with their latest record. Even if it's only a trip down memory lane, "The Philosophy of Velocity" is a trip any fan of concept albums and madman experimentation can't afford to pass up."