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ARTIST
TITLE
Alfarroba
FORMAT
CD
LABEL
CATALOG #
UTR 072CD
UTR 072CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
8/7/2015
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Pega Monstro are sisters Júlia Reis (vocals, drums) and Maria Reis (vocals, guitar, keyboard). The duo's name translates to "catch the monster," perfectly countering the band's striving dream-punk sound. Born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal, Maria and Júlia have been playing music together since they were 15 and 17 respectively, in other groups first before becoming a duo. In 2010, the sisters, along with some of their musician friends, started a record label called Cafetra Records to document Portugal's garage punk scene. Pega Monstro were among the first bands on the label, releasing their O Juno-60 Nunca Teve Fita EP in 2010 to a burgeoning audience of devotees, who'd turn up in growing numbers to each show and sing back the lyrics. Maria puts the band's instant attention down to being different: "we were girls, we were young and we could rock, people weren't used to that at all." 2012 saw Pega Monstro release their self-titled debut album, which was produced by B Fachada, an extremely well known Portuguese singer-songwriter. The band and producer hit it off like wildfire and recorded an impressive, raucous debut record that met with critical national acclaim. Pega Monstro now present their second album, Alfarroba. "Braço de Ferro" kickstarts the album with torrents of energy; the song's title, which translates as "arm wrestling," is apt for a track so full of back-and-forth. Júlia and Maria excel at bouncing ideas off each other; snare rolls trigger flights of guitar, fogs of cymbal form steps for the vocal to climb. Songs like "Fado D'Água Fria" and "És Tudo O Que Eu Queria" showcase Pega Monstro's more reflective mood, with both songs pausing for the clouds to pass and delivering some well-anticipated melancholic moments to offset the album's otherwise dizzying ascent. Alfarroba was produced and mixed by Leonardo Bindilatti, a good friend of the band and Cafetra Records. Bindilatti has worked on many releases from the close-knit group of bands from Lisbon, including his own Putas Bêbadas, and this familiarity comes through on the recording. Nothing feels rushed; there's a leisure afforded in getting everything to sound just right. Pega Monstro make rapturous music; it's brisk, it's contagious, it laughs at the language barrier and just keeps running headlong into more and more new ideas.
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