Brazilian masters of off-center psychedelia, Boogarins produce wonderfully weird and adventurous songs that hark back to The Beatles‘ Tomorrow Never Knows, early Pink Floyd, and out into 1990s post rock and the current international neo-psychedelic map of bands like Dungen and Temples. It’s an exceptional sound that excels in a live environment.
Boogarins travel from Brazil to bring their mesmerisingly fun psych-rock to Ramsgate this Summer, on July 15th!
“Boogarins have blossomed into a worldwide force beyond their native Brazil” – The Washington Post
The title of the new album, Sombrou Dúvida, is a question. A play on words in Boogarins’ native Brazilian Portuguese. It’s a contraction of ‘Sombra ou Dúvida’, the title track of the album, which translates as ‘Shadow or Doubt’. There might seem to be a darkness to the question, given that both choices aren’t exactly cheery. Yet, Dino, the smiling, Afro-donned singer of the group tells us that ‘shadow’ refers to a feeling related to your comfort zone, whereas ‘doubt’ is the uncertainty that hits people and leads them to follow their instincts.
For fans of previous works by the band, Fernando Almeida’s songwriting and soaring vocals guide Sombrou Dúvida in a way that’s reminiscent of the Latin Grammy-nominated second album Manual, which was a portrait of a live band exploring the professional recording studio for the first time. The new 10-song set builds on this premise while retaining many of the home-recorded electronic elements of Lá Vem a Morte.
The use of a large, tuned live room at Austin’s Space Recording Studio allowed Boogarins to include the bold sound of their live performances — heavy rock guitar from Benke Ferraz (also in the producer role) colliding with experimental synth noise and bass undercurrents from Raphael Vaz, all driven by the incredibly dynamic and effulgent drummer Ynaiã Benthroldo.
“We didn’t want to write songs telling people what to do, but instead help them find their own thing. So, there are more questions in the album than answers” Dino adds. In these days of uncertainty, perhaps there’s some comfort to be found by remaining in the shadows.
“Brazilian Boogarins subtly update the Tropicália template by taking in acid-fried indie rock on MANUAL” – Mojo
“Even if you don’t speak the language, the message is clear: This is an album that is begging you to confront your cynical ways and reconcile them with the realities of the world around you, whether those truths are ‘good’ or ‘bad’” – Consequence of Sound
