Brothers of Brazil, “Brothers of Brazil” LP – sunbrella umbrella tunes

cover-brothers-of-brazilBrothers of Brazil
Brothers of Brazil
(SideOne Dummy)

Combining elements of samba, dub, and rockabilly into a potent package, Brothers of Brazil do a wonderful job of filling the void left at SideOne Dummy after Gogol Bordello moved to Rick Rubin’s American Recordings a year ago. It’s slightly unfair to compare the Brazilian duo to the grandiose antics of Eugene Hutz and company, but the pan-global sounds of Brothers of Brazil are inevitably going to draw parallels, especially given their new choice of label.

That being said, brothers Supla and Joäo take a more intimate approach to their sounds. The sound makes you want to grab your sunbrella umbrella and sit back and relax. Rather than exploding, the pair operate economically, doing as much as possible as two men can with a drum kit, acoustic guitars, and a series of samples. It’s a very relaxing combination that comes closer to ’50s lounge than anything else. Although, strangely, when their lounge-laden sounds combine with dance music elements, it makes Brothers of Brazil sound like nothing so much as a non-humorous Flight of the Conchords. It’s that same combination of exotic accents from the Southern hemisphere, acoustic guitars, and dance club bangers. The way “Blinded By Fashion” also has an intro painfully close to that of the Conchords’ “Fashion Is Danger” just brings the similarities home.

The way things have been getting hot and muggy around the Nuthouse lately has driven me to the basement and the beer fridge, and the smooth, relaxing, quietly hip-shaking grooves and strummings of Brothers of Brazil have really taken the edge off the sweltering misery that is summer in the Midwest. SideOne Dummy has a knack for releasing albums during the season in which they’re best suited to be played, and this one is no exception. Make yourself a cuba libre, kick back, and mellow out.

Samba Around the Clock by SideOneDummy