Lo-fi indie rock from Brasil, in the vein of Guided by Voices or Dinosaur Jr.
Watch the official video for the track “Home”, free download after the jump!
For Top Surprise, it’s as if the world began in the 80’s. That’s when the band members were born, and when guitars reached unbearable volumes. Therefore, names like J. Mascis and Thurston Moore somehow represent the big bang that would result in the sound of the four-piece from the boring Juiz de Fora, in Brazil’s southeastern state of Minas Gerais. Another big influence, Guided by Voices’ lo-fi recordings were a stronger D.I.Y. message for the X and Y generations (yes, that’s where we are right now) than the messages that came before. But Top Surprise knows homemade noises, though wonderful, doesn’t float everyone’s boat; so they pack their songs with pop melodies that would certainly leave Phil Spector either proud or deaf.
Everything Must Go, Top Surprise’s debut, was produced by Le Almeida (Coloração Desbotada) and Paulo Casaes (Fujimo) during two drunken days at brothers Andre and Daniel’s apartment. Vocals were recorded in the bathroom, guitars in the living room and drums in dad’s bedroom, to the neighbors’ despair. The results sound as strong as any recent “shitgaze” record you’ve heard — but with a subtlety only someone who worked as a telephone operator could conceive. Hysterical guitars and joggly drums explode into the songwriting, with female backing vocals resembling bees inside the speaker. From the obvious admiration of American college rock to hints of post-punk, the EP ends with a folk-tinged incursion into Jeff Mangum/Elliott Smith territory. Proof that even the syncretic “generation Y” is capable of tender moments — albeit amid chaos.
free download, courtesy of Pug Records
last.fm
