Lisabi - Au Diable Les Bananes

I was backpacking across the world wide web in search for some new music to become obsessed with, when in my rummaging I came across this Brazillian band Lisabi. They're from Sao Paulo, Brazil and have enough energy that you've probably been feeling the results of their immense aura created by their awesome vocals and respectable horn section without even realizing it. That's red bull you drank was pretty much just a placebo, dude, the energy you received was simply from this band existing. Other than just pure fucking energy, they sound like Bomb the Music Industry and the Taxpayers...a lot. I'd say more on the Bomb side than anything, though. They have this full length out called Au diable Les Bananes, and you can download it for free off their bandcamp page...but do so with caution, because it will fuck your ears (in a completely consensual, and positive way).

The album starts off with some ambience at the beginning of "Thank You All", and then you're hit with the drums (which are recorded really fucking well) and you're already drawn in by them by time the bari sax (I think that's what it is) kicks in and the brass instruments excitedly follow. The hornline is infectious and the counter melodies are perfectly composed and executed birlliantly. The surly sounding vocals come in and everything is mixing in greatly, and then the straight up angsy/emotional/rough-around-the-edges vocals start up and everything is right with the world. Unforunately, this song is already over by this point, but fortunately, there's plenty more where that came from. The next song "Quit Your Life" starts with the upstrokes and drills everything else that was introduced in the first song back into your skull, and you're not even upset about having to get stitches to stop the blood from leaking out of your head from the aforementioned surgical drilling.

There's a song on this album called "Fred Phelps: American Terrorist", which I know seems like it may be a dead subject by now. But the West Boro fuckers are still out protesting funerals, so the topic isn't dead until somebody finally kills them. I'm not really sure as far as the lyrics go for this song as to whether or not they're actually talking about the Phelps or not, but I can tell you that the vocals sound beyond incredible on this track regardless. One of the guys sounds a lot like Jeff when he's yelling...and he continues to sound quite like him in the softer parts of songs, such as the beginning of the next song "Share", which starts off softer than the others, and turns into a poppy thrill ride of incredible vocal lines and some awesome trombone (I'm a trombonist...it's kind of my job to get excited about trombone parts more than the other horns, sorry other horns (suck it!)).

I have to be honest...it's really fucking hard to not just go on and on about each song, rather than just give a general synopsis of how good this album is. I should be skipping around the album and giving information about a few specific songs, but instead I'm literally skipping around in person and giving information about each of the songs...like "Do Major" is a really powerful sounding song that's mostly fast, but has various tempo changes and cool instrumental drops where vocals pretty much stand alone at times to rock your socks. I'd say this song sounds the most like Bomb/Arrogant Sons of Bitches.

(I'm fucking sleep deprived...by the way. If you're wondering why I might've made 500 typos that I haven't yet corrected.)

"Language Itself is Profane" has probably the best hornlines on this entire album, and possibly the best use of emotional vocals/yelling during like a punk breakdown that's followed by more of a ska breakdown with softer vocals and awesome drum fills. God, I love the hornlines on this song. There are so many styles being brought into this album, it's pretty crazy. Like, I would've just said it was ska-punk at first glance, but there's definitely influence from older, more traditional ska that's more obvious in the drum work than anywhere else.

They must have a love for ambience, because they even have a song on here called "Ambiencia", which I'm assuming is a true cognate and means ambience...I don't fucking speak portugese. I mean, these lyrics aren't in portugese, but I'm assuming the title is...maybe? I know that's like the primary language in Brazil, whereas in Portugal they speak spanish...fucking crazy world. This song isn't just ambient noises, because halfway in another one of their awesome, powerful, fast, too-punk-to-fuck songs comes on, and I think I'm in love with this band.

Okay...the song "Zelda" on here just made me realize who else they sound like to me...and that's A Billion Ernies. Is it a coincidence that ABE sometimes covers the Zelda theme in their sets? Probably. Regardless, this song isn't the Zelda theme, it's just an awesome song that sounds like happy chaos and excited danger. It sounds hectic and over-the-top and exactly what this world needs. It sounds fucking awesome.

What the hell? There's an eight minute song on here. (Hoboken) No jokin', dudes. The final track "Satyagrahi" is like some symphony of sorts with its tremendous length. It sounds incredible...I think I just blew a musical fuse. I'm done. This is the last review I'll ever write. Okay, that's not true. But what is true, is that this is one of the best albums I'll ever have the pleasure of reviewing. It's so fucking incredible...and I don't know how I didn't realize they sound like ABE way earlier. They also remind me of other bands off Community Records like Stuck Lucky and Fatter Than Albert. It's actually pretty weird that they aren't on that label, actually. These guys need to come up to Ohio and play like 20 shows with my band Atomic Potato.

To Lisabi:  When you guys read this (which you will, because I'll spam you with links to it), feel free to contact me about booking in Ohio or Kentucky if you ever tour up here. I can also direct you to other people for other places and shit...I just need to see you guys play, ha.

ANYWAY, you can download this album off of their bandcamp and join in on the stokedness that I've just been inhibiting. You should know it's awesome because I don't give a fuck about ska anymore and this album just fucked my world up.

Love,
Idle

P.S. I was just informed by their drummer Sebastian that before they started Lisabi they were the band Atomic Nachos, which released this EP called I Coulda Been a Business Man which I've been listening to for a year or so now and love. I didn't know they were the same dudes...Brazil must be pretty small...I'm going to go look at a globe.