B-Side of Life

  A brilliant and accessible double LP that showcases Khruangbin favourite tracks and influences providing an actual sonic globetrotting experience. The journey starts with "Illuminations" featuring Alice Coltrane and Santana, a spiritual intro for an incredible journey. The second track "I know that (when the spring times comes)" by Brilliantes del Vuelo is a mellow dubby reggae inspired track that gives a way to the more energetic "Khushi" by Nazia Hassan, a bittersweet quasi disco sounding track. "DRM" by Kelly Doyle is a rather short but breezy instrumental song that keeps the spirit of the sonic traveller alive. Side B starts up with "Don't go" by the south korean rock pioneers Sanullim, a very 80's new wave delight type of song. "I like it (don't stop)" by Maxwell Udoh is a rather amusing disco type song with romantic lyrics, very danceable stuff. "Enseñame" featuring David Marez is a lounge type so...

  Star is a short story by japanese writer Yukio Mishima originally published in 1960 and the english version in 2019. A powerful and engaging analysis of fame and the anxieties and insecurities that may come along with it. The story centers around Rikio "Richie" Mizuno, a young movie star that is frequently typecasted as a hardened yakuza in crime films. Despite the fame and the adulation of thousands of female fans, Rikio feels disillusioned with the film industry and even his own fame. Mishima manages to weave a tale with mastery that constanly switches from Rikio, the rich and famous young star and the characters he plays in movies.  This story was overshadowed by other Mishima's works but it retains the ground in a beautiful and exquisite meditation about existence and death from one of Japan's most influential and charismatic authors of the postwar era. Hypnotic and mesmerizing in its own right, it's an interesting read from this writer whose life was as tri...

  The debut album by Black Midi's frontman Geordie Greep is as ambitious as it is engaging and very adventurous in its approach to blend genres and disrupt conventions.  Much of this album was recorded in Brazil while Greep was on tour and the spontaneity is present as well as some tropicalia elements. The lyrics do contain some crude humor at times but reflect the loneliness of the characters and narrators of each song. According to Geordie Greep himself:   “I wanted to make as many bizarre, grotesque love songs as possible,”  and it is a very affirmative work in the dealings of passion and how it can be corny and charming at the same time.  A grandiose album in its mix of influences and genres that do not sound pretentious or boring and indeed create beautiful musical vignettes with stories that are both deep and funny. 

  The eight album by The Cure released in 1989 stands as one of the band's most dark, profound and melancholic works. Lauded as one of or even the best album by the band and immortalized in popular culture  in the episode 12 of season 1 of South Park when Robert Smith saves the town and Kyle yells at him from a distance "Disintegration is the best album ever!" It is a very powerful album from beginning to finish and it contains the band's somewhat bittersweet vibes, in which there is existential dread but also a hopeful glimpse into the future as brief as it may be.  A beautiful and unique album that will stand for eternity. 

  This is the third and latest volume from Vinegar Syndrome's collection Home Grown Horrors, and it brings some recovered treasures, such as Hauntedween,Deadly Love, and Revenge.  Hauntedween was shot in 1989 but was only released in 1991, basically taking 23 days to shoot and two years for the official release.Directed by Doug Robertson with a very low-budget that did not stop the movie from being throughly entertaining and tantalizing. This movie according to the extras in the bluray was a work of deep commitment, integrity and hard work from all those involved as it was Doug Robertson's passion project.  It all started one Halloween night when a little girl visiting the Burber family's House of Horrors is killed by the little boy of the family, Eddie. After the crime, Eddie's mother takes him away to live in a secluded cabin. Twenty years later, a fraternity is in need of some money and decides to hold a fundraiser in the Burber's house, unaware that Eddie may h...

  Num dos seus ensaios, Susan Sontag descreve a sensibilidade ao "camp" como uma espécie de amor, um amor pela natureza humana. Cita-se: "It relishes, rather than judges, the little triumphs and awkward intensities of character.....Camp taste identifies with what is enjoying. People who share this sensibility are not laughing at the thing they label as "a camp", they are enjoying it. CAMP IS A TENDER FEELING" Aqui aplicado ao cinema, é com essa ternura e vontade de ser sempre surpreendida/o que nos arriscamos a ver um clássico de culto realizado antes de sequer termos nascido, como um da nossa contemporaneidade que pode ser vilipendiado no agora mas que se tornará um clássico daqui a uns anos. É com esse profundo entusiasmo e quasi inocência que nos sentamos e deixamos o sentimento do camp tornar possível a nossa evasão durante umas horas.  ASSHOLES inspira tão só a ternura quanto a que a/o espectador/a quiser dispensar. A narrativa é surreal de um realism...

 Há livros que depois de lidos, nos acompanham como um fantasma obediente mas vigilante para que não nos esqueçamos do que apreendemos durante a leitura, é assim o caso com este romance de Ottessa Mosgfegh, que prefigura uma realidade bastante contemporânea envolta em laivos de um surrealismo subtil, a de uma jovem mulher adulta que decide hibernar durante um ano, tendo por fim "renascer" como um novo ser.  A nossa personagem não é uma ursa, é uma jovem mulher descrita por outros e por ela mesmo como muito bela exteriormente e com recursos financeiros abundantes. Além de tudo isso, veste-se com estilo, licenciada em história de arte que reconhece tanto a arte nas telas como no seu guarda-roupa. Se tem tudo para "vencer" na vida contemporânea e se até é o motivo de inveja da sua única e melhor amiga com quem tem uma relação tóxica mas vulnerável, qual a razão da sua hibernação? Estar farta de toda a gente. Parece ser uma razão bastante pueril mas que ganha a sua sign...

  One of Jazz's greatest musicians, Charles Mingus releases in 1959 "Mingus Ah Um", it was a great year for jazz and this classic album remains one of my favorites of the genre. A very diverse piece of work with dynamic and vibrant pieces that never tire or get old. The brilliant urgency of the album's opener "Better get hit in your soul" sets the pace for a beautiful and eclectic album from one of the greatests players and composers in jazz. 

  The Cure is finally back with a new album (released 1st November 2024) that has been gaining a lot of well-deserved praise. Songs of a lost world is a beautiful and entrancing album that showcases The Cure at their best and proves the band is incapable of a failed album. To celebrate The Cure's return, I've been organizing and listening to my The Cure collection. Since it is my favorite band of all time, I may be a bit parcial on this but Three Imaginary Boys remains one of the best debuts in music history.  Released in 1979, Three Imaginary Boys is a bit different from the rest of The Cure's catalogue since their approach in these songs is somewhat straightforward, with very catchy melodies and not as cryptic lyrics as in their following albums. It's raw and lovely at the same time with impressive and sometimes wild guitar work and the carismatic vocals of Robert Smith. This album is fun from beginning to end and a nice way to continue my The Cure celebration for thi...

  A mesmerizing synth groove opens up the treasure chest that is this album by american synth-pop band Nation of Language. I'm speaking of the first song and single "Weak in your light", a haunting and moving ballad with a beautiful synth line and captivating and almost sorrowful vocals. Beautiful introduction to the album which is comprised of several bangers that take their 80's influence serious without sounding the least dated. This is the third album by Nation of Language and  their sound is recreated once again to original and unique heights. Essential listening.   

  Addictive garage rock with psych undertones directly from the 80's in Argentina. This vinyl was made possible by the efforts of Twistin' Bones Records since the band didn't release an LP during their existence. Amor Indio were one of the most important bands of the late 80's underground in Buenos Aires and the music they play is kind of danceable go-go, heavily inspired by 60's TV. However, while listening I was reminded of Barbarella and such kind of movies that delight on the kitsch without overdoing it. Inspiring party music for a crazy weekend. 

  A collection of pretty engaging and interesting tracks from select countries around the 1979-1984 time period. The underground movement in that time was very much energized by post-punk bands and synths were all the rage then so this compilation is in itself a treasure chest of tracks all distinctive from one another and from different countries. From Poland to Yugoslavia, France, USA and others.  It's quite a delight for the most adventurous of listeners. 

  Toxic Waste were formed in 1982 after a Crass gig (or so the story goes). Very politically engaged punk since they played during the Troubles and the violent enviroment in that area but nonetheless very passionate and extremely melodic due to the female and male vocals that harmonize and bring another layer of greatness unto the songs.  Belfast is an extraordinary anthem of rebellion against organized religion among other things and a potent voice of resistance for the opressed. A beautiful and very solid anarcho-punk record. 

 Funky jazz by renowned saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. Reed Seed was Grover's final album with Motown and it seems he achieved the sound he had been perfecting since Mister Magic and Feels so good, a highly melodic type of jazz-funk that paved the way for a smoother kind of jazz.

Psicadelismo, electrónica, riffs contagiantes e vocalizações esparsas mas no ponto, caracterizam o quarto álbum da banda portuguesa, Galgo. Munidos de uma energia electrizante e com ideias de composição bastante criativas, "Denso" revela-se uma viagem de contornos aventureiros e no geral, imprevisível.  Editado em Fevereiro deste ano, o álbum continua a tradição de rock de laivos dançáveis mas de composição complexa e com uma raiz fiel ao math-rock. Imperdível.  "nãosabesnadaedonadanãosabesnadarnãosabesnadasobreonadadofundodomar"

  Diário sónico de registo ambiental e de field-recordings, "Dans La Gorge D'Un Monstre" espraia-se por 5 temas que ganham cadência em momentos alucinatórios, escapistas de uma intensidade gentil que nos convida a imaginar outros cenários como se uma cinematografia sónica.  Mestre André (dos Jibóia) e músico por trás do projecto O Morto, é o nosso maestro para uma experiência auditiva imersiva e consistente. De realçar o dinamismo e texturas do segundo tema, "Lila".  Um trabalho que foi baseado num número de field recordings capturados numa viagem a Marrocos, somos conduzidos através de paisagens sonoras oníricas e por vezes, fantasmagóricas. O Morto deixa-nos em paisagens delirantes das quais ficamos com saudades após o álbum findar.

Electrifying and addictive album by the Istanbul trio, Lalalar. "En Kötü lyi Olur" is their second album filled with crushing grooves, magnetic anatolian inspired melodies, captivating riffs and some dub and electro in clever doses. They remain as polically engaged as in their predecessor and debut album, "Bi Cinnete Bakar", exposing social divides and using music as a permanent unifier and a powerful voice for those that are kept voiceless.  The energy of this album is often delirious, engaging and extremely beautiful. The name of the album means "at its worst, it will be good" and the band states that the name means  “ a beacon of hope in our ever socially, politically, and climatically challenged world ”. Essential listening. 

  Geórgia (USA) atinge picos de calor extremo, a população de Enigma, uma pequena povoação com os seus traços singulares e orgulhosa de ter acolhido o nascimento d’O Cantor de Gospel, anseia a chegada do seu mais famoso conterrâneo com preparações messiânicas. Eis que chega, o Cantor chega e quando o Cantor chega, começa a chover, coisa que já não acontecia há alguns meses e deixa os populares de Enigma e vilas circundantes rubras de orgulho porque o seu Cantor de Gospel, além de ter uma voz celestial que comunica com o divino é também veículo para milagres. O Cantor de Gospel, obra de estreia do escritor norte-americano Harry Crews é um retrato vivido da americana do interior, do seu povo marcado pela superstição e atarantado pela miséria em que nasce, cresce e morre. Quando Harry Crews descreve o calor que se sente em Enigma, sentimos imediatamente o formigueiro incomodo do suor, porque o escritor consegue na sua pena transmitir vibrantemente, todos os suspiros, todos os arfare...

  Groovy and amazing compilation of funk tunes compiled by Ace Records that includes album tracks, rare 45s and some unreleased treasures of hard-hitting, heavy yet danceable funk that are authentic sonic vignettes for the 70s in the US. 

Beautiful and breathtaking live album recorded in France by Dizzy Gillespie with arrangments by Lalo Schifrin who also plays the piano in this album. Musicians from all over the world accompany the band leader and trumpeter in this magic odissey through popular and not so popular tunes from composers like Antonio Carlos Jobim. "Long, long summer" remains as wonderful as ever and in this rendition almost magical. An album that charms and makes you fall in love with it.