Anum Preto: Anum Preto – BRAZIL – DL [2020]

1. Perspectiva
2. Observações
3. Tetris Humano
4. 2027
5. Elogio Da Tragédia
6. Cópia De Uma Cópia De Uma Cópia
7. Onda Fria
8. Retrato

It was late 2019 that I got an email from Anum Preto. They probably saw my profile name in Bandcamp and thought “this man could be interested in our music.” And they were right! I had a sample and seconds later immediately bought their “Inferno Interno” album on Bandcamp. How could I not as they were only asking $2.00 for the privilege of enjoying their plunge deep into the late 70s/early aesthetic that we’re all about here at PPM.

I noticed the steady stream of emails from the band’s Bandcamp page in the last 12 months and in a spare moment Monday night, I sampled their brand new single and was really enjoying the first 30 seconds of it so much I bought their entire back catalog for the discounted asking price. Being Bandcamp, the files are in a wide variety of formats, including several uncompressed, CD quality formats. Buy it all, and play it at night when you are being creative and imagine that it’s 1982 again.

“Perspectiva” showed that there were more influences than early Cure and New Order for vocalist/instrumentalist Aerson Moreira. The guitar tone here was a treble-charged dreamscsape straight out of the Will Sergeant playbook under which the skittering drum machine and washes of synth string patches gave a distinct whiff of Echo + the Bunnymen. This was a strong exploration of that dreamlike, yearning sound, but with a relatively fast tempo underpinning the song.

I liked the upbeat yet melancholic [the key change from verse to chorus] “Tetris Humano” [“Human Tetris”] about how we fit into our world. The urgent “2027” was solidly in the Joy Divsion camp with motorik drums with busy hi-hats punctuated by Syndrum® hits [a Joy Division specialty]. A strong bass line and shimmering synths did little to dispel the Joy Division vibe.

My favorite song here was the lovely “Elogio De Tragédia.” The music strongly recalled the languidly sweet instrumentals that were the domain of early China Crisis B-sides, but the singing gave this song, alone on this album, the heartbreaking and evasive melodies that I love from Brazilian music. The combination of the Post-Punk elements I enjoy with the Brazilian character of the music really brought this one close to my heart. Sample below.

But there were many more delights here. “Cópia [De Uma Cópia De Uma Cópia]” featured a tribal drum loop with delightful synths [including what sounded like a WASP synth run through a ton of sustain] and soft string chords run through a noise gate for a glorious sound. In spite of Aerson Moreira deliberately morose vocals on the verses, the music had an uplifting and buoyant cast to it; giving me music that was simultaneously melancholy and ecstatic. This track was definitely a keeper.

The album’s closer was the gorgeous “Retrato” which dove right into the heart of late period Joy Division/early New Order. The long instrumental intro was almost two minutes into the song, as the straightforward drum programming gave the double tracked guitars room to the spotlight while the synths were straight out of the “Love Will Tear Us Apart” play book. It makes a very strong climax to the second Anum Preto album.

When I reviewed the first album, I was considering that the way forward for the band was to further embrace synthesizers and this has largely played out. The synths share the focus along with the guitars for that balance that we enjoy so much. Mr. Moreira has widened the scope of the music from the first album and most intriguingly, has moved beyond the more traditional Post-Punk sound [though that’s why we’re here] on the song “Elogio De Tragédia.” The blend of the evasive, complex Brazilian melody line of the kind that makes samba so attractive to me, with the Post-Punk foundations of the music may point the way forward to a unique fusion of styles that I both enjoy. At least I hope so! If this sounds interesting to you too, then hit that button below. The new album is $6.00 for a DL in any format you’d care to want and helpful hint: the full discography for $10.75 is the right way to go.

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