Review: Firefriend ‘Rcknrll’
When you listen to the opening tracks of albums, they should take your mind away from the usual mundane crap of everyday life and off to a euphoric place, a utopia of joy and happiness. Dreamscapes does exactly that from the first to the last note, as it is completely unyielding and uncompromising, as it slowly begins to melt your face off.
Captured live at the No. 74 in Sao Paulo, which is, in their own words, ‘one of the largest, filthiest and most violent cities in the world, and this is the music we make here’ this is a one way trip to the heart of darkness. Firefriend are Yury Hermuche on guitar and vocals, Julia Grassetti on bass, keyboards and vocals and Caca Ameral on drums, and this live release, Rcknrll, captures the true essence of what the band are all about.
The album is a transcendental psychedelic sonic assault on your mind, body and soul, full of strikingly well-crafted songs that address the destructive powers that exist and give hope for the next generation. With songs such as Avalanche and the excellent Yellow Spider, you can feel the primal throbbing rhythm with fuzz layered across the music, almost like a lightning storm of guitar haze and drugged-out wailing.
Listen to the start of After Hours as it gives off that avant-garde rock feel that you got from The Velvet Underground, and when combined with the live sound created that night, makes you feel claustrophobic, and gives you the sense that you were present at the venue clapping and nodding in appreciation to these masters at work.
primal throbbing rhythm with fuzz layered across the music, almost like a lightning storm of guitar haze and drugged-out wailing…
Decreation Facts is like an annoying insect flying around your head, but instead of wanting to swot it away, you learn to embrace the madness it’s creating, which is followed up by the fuzzed-out craziness that is Surface To Air.
Listening to this, you’ll find yourself immersed in distortion and noise, but also learning to appreciate the physicality of Firefriend’s music. Three-Dimensional Sound Glitch feels like an experimental song that will have you transfixed, it’s all soft and smooth with a range of overlapping textures and tones, great harmonies and stretching the limits of their instruments to new levels.
Hunt keeps the energy going, with a succulent bassline from Grassetti that pierces the heart and gives off the intensity this band creates live and it’s all wrapped up with The Black Hole which completes the mind-bending set of psychedelic noise from the Brazilian trio.
This is not just another live album, this is a mission statement. So do yourself a favour, turn the music on, the lights low and let yourself go.
Label: Cardinal Fuzz Records | Little Cloud Records
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Twitter | Instagram
Scribed by: Matthew Williams
