Massacre EP, Treli Feli Repi Transufão Noise Records, Brazil
Rating: 71
by Pierre Lestruhaut
You wouldn’t think that extremely short releases of a few under-2-minute scuzzy lo-fi numbers sung in a language none of us really understand would be motivation enough to write a whole review, yet what the kids from Brazilian label Transfusão Noise Records have been doing with the awkward form is riveting enough to have another CF writer excited about discussing it. A few months after Babe Florida’s ten-minute, 14-people-involved EP, Treli Feli Repi comes out as a more personal enterprise (the increasingly common one-man rock band), with Lê Almeida himself taking on all vocal, instrumental, and songwriting duties.
Because of this EP’s striking similarities, in form and references, to Babe Florida’s debut EP, I could have probably gotten away with just paraphrasing everything Carlos said in his review of Depois Eu Te Explico Melhor about the use of track timing as a narrative tool for short lived experiences, that judging by the album description and song titles, are apparently related to women (“Muitas Garotas,” “Laura”), death (“Cardiopatia,” “23 Suicidio”), and alcohol (?).
But, as much as I like both EPs for their strict adherence to a seemingly unpolished and unusual M.O., the guy's lack of interest in long-form composition makes it hard to like it specifically for this concept. Which is why, as obvious as it may seem to drop a Guided by Voices reference right when their “classic lineup” releases a new record, this is an album that’s held together by the charm of the individual riff, the killer chorus, or even the 30-second fuzzy outro - all the elements and loose ideas spread around the EP that have you constantly coming back to it for the same reason die-hard GBV fans keep randomly coming back to individual tracks in any of their “classic” records.
This is not the kind of album you need to go to if you’re looking for a satisfying front-to-back listening experience or a well thought out concept record, or even the occasional two or three hit singles you’ll be playing on repeat. But, despite the album’s general lack of focus and development, you might just find yourself interrupting your daily activities to rediscover that melody you were humming all day, or that riff you couldn’t get out of your head. Even if it’s only for a minute and a half.