Indie Music Album Reviews

tarsila - Está Sobrando Espaço

5/16/2014

Tarsila

Está Sobrando Espaço
self-released; 2012

3.6 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Tarsila is a rock band from Porto Alegre, Brazil and when I was listening to a couple of songs of their 2012 release Está Sobrando Espaço I couldn't but help but think they sounded a bit like a Brazilian version of Spoon. Specifically, the song “Abandono de Tudo” reminded me of “Finer Feelings,” which has a similar bass line and strategically placed hand claps. As the album progresses you realize that Tarsila also contains a lot of influence from alternative acts from the 90’s such as Stone Temple Pilots and Local H. The four-piece consisting of Lucidio Gontan (vocals), Marcelo Reichelt (guitar), Tiago Schmidt (bass) and Luca Gontan (drums) are a tight unit of musicians who don't reinvent the wheel of alternative music by any stretch of the imagination but they do deliver a very consistent album with a solid number of songs.

First up is “Vácuo,” which combines crunchy distorted guitars, bass and drums. I didn’t understand a lick of what the vocalist was singing about but the song was catchy and sounds better the louder you pump it. “Eu não faço força pra ser assim” sounds like it came straight from the 90’s and contained a cowbell and guitar, which reminded me of the one-hit wonder Spin Doctors. I liked their acoustic ditty entitled “Está tudo errado,” which revolved around vocals, an acoustic guitar and bass. The song has a natural warmth to it that makes you feel fuzzy inside. It was a nice change of pace amongst the heavier songs.

“Mágoa, falta, trégua, calma” and “Lástima” are certified rocker while “Já era tarde” takes the energy down a notch. They close with a nostalgic rocker called “Quando você for embora,” which was one of the highlights of the album and contained very effective vocal harmonies.

Está Sobrando Espaço is a solid album that occasionally feels dated. The songs are well written and if you enjoy 90’s alternative music with a Brazilian flavor you will want to check this album out.