Bonde do Rolê was actually supposed to play Portland
last summer, shortly after the release of their full-length debut,
With Lasers, but the Brazilian trio had to abruptly cancel the
show for “emergency dental surgery.” An apologetic MySpace bulletin
explained simply, “Too much candy.” Coming from any other band that
excuse might sound overly treacly, but since Bonde do Rolê is the
musical equivalent of snorting rails of Fun Dip, it seemed only
appropriate. (The group had already proven that they weren’t a bunch of
pussies last year, when sparkplug/spazzster frontwoman Marina Ribatski
tore up the Doug Fir with her arm still in a sling, after an onstage
leap-gone-wrong at that year’s Pitchfork Music Festival.)
Hopefully injury free and well flossed, Bonde do Rolê returns
as headliners, riding the small wave of success of With Lasers,
a 21st century party album in the truest sense. Discovered by Diplo,
Bonde do Rolê utilized enormous guitar riffs from has-beens like
Tone Loc and Alice in Chains, layering snappy backbeats, 808 booms, and
infectious Portuguese chants until each song was a nearly
indestructible, familiar-yet-fresh party anthem from a ghetto halfway
around the world.
Coming up with catchy, bass-heavy singles is one thing, but
parlaying those into a full-length album worth listening to repeatedly
is something else entirely. And against all expectations, that’s
exactly what the group did on With Lasers. Signed to a real
record label uneager to shell out for sampling clearances, Bonde do
Rolê had to create an album without the crutch of instantly
recognizable 2 Live Crew or AC/DC hooks, and they became better
songwriters because of it. With Lasers is less kitschy than
their earlier singles and EP, and it coheres like a proper album ought
to, rather than simply sounding like weird new international music
discovered on the internet.
Of course, if Marina & Co. want to bust out the “Man in the
Box”-centric “Melô do Tabaco” at Holocene this week, I won’t be
calling the RIAA to report their sampling transgression. All I ask in
return is that the band brushes and flosses at least twice a day. You
know—for the fans.