Gênero: Progressive Rock
01. Quicksand
02. Don't Put Me Down
03. Werewolf
04. Cade O Sol
05. Poeira
06. Honey Bee
07. Transition
08. Migration
09. Run Away
10. Frio
11. Partida
Link 01
Link 02
This is about as obscure a band as they come folks. Pretty Pain is a progressive rock & jazz fusion band from Toronto, Canada. Still this was a total surprise, no record label, no prior releases just this incredible 2021 LP out of nowhere. Oops, I kinda gave away my opinion already didn’t I? Well for anyone who knows me in the real world this is so far up my alley it’s bowling a strike. Lame jokes aside, these guys are really good at their craft and I absolutely love jazz fusion so I am very much here for it. After getting a little information directly from the band leader I thought I’d provide a little backstory. All but the drummer are from Brazil (the drummer is from Portugal), but they all met while living in Toronto. Tico Souza is the vocalist and keyboardist as well as band leader and he really does seem to be the heart and soul of this band. On bass we have Zica Silva, and on drums we have Maurito Marques. Most of the actual composing was done by Tico but the arrangements do appear to be a group effort.
Alright let’s get to the music, jazz fusion is easily my favorite genre that isn’t directly rock related. Fusion has come to mean a lot of things over the years, but in recent times people really enjoy bringing together funk, jazz and progressive rock. Which is funny in its own right because prog rock developed from jazz fusion, but I digress. This is relatively laid back compared to a lot of the jazz fusion that I listen to, but it’s one of those things where the band absolutely knows how to build things to an emotionally convincing climax. Tico Souza has a way with the keys that I absolutely love. While the music is pretty jazzy, during songs like Werewolf they really like the laid back funk beat with occasional keyboard runs and a really damn funky bassline. It’s impressive how they keyboard riffs aren’t exactly flashy, but all three instruments together accompanied by some fun time signature experiments weave a complex tapestry that sounds equally relaxed and excited. I talk about energy in my reviews, and hey sometimes you need music to lay on the beach with, and that’s exactly the imagery this album provides me. Walking along a sunlit shore with a warm breeze playing across my face. Reminiscing about old times and old friends and just tuning out the outside world and relaxing. That is until you get to the breakdown (usually towards the end) and then you start headbanging and air banding and, well you get the picture. Maybe I’ve said too much about my own music listening habits, but damn if this album doesn’t just put me in such a positive place.
I’ve been talking in a general overarching sense, let’s get into some specifics. The first songs that really grabbed my attention and made me realize just how great this album is, was Poeira. A laid back latin tune with a little bit of a spicy attitude, held in reserve for the right moment. That moment comes at 2:24 where we get into the bridge/solo/breakdown and all hell breaks loose, the bass, the drums and the keys all have their turn to show off for a few seconds and it’s great. Zica Silva is an amazing bass player and now I desperately want to hear more of his bass work. Then Tico Souza finally gets to really show his chops on what I’m assuming is a Hammond B3 with Leslie cabinet he just cuts loose and it’s easily the best solo on the whole album. This is when I realized “wow, these guys are serious”. That’s where this album is a bit of a paradox, it’s incredibly relaxed, but that up-tempo funky beat keeps things energetic and fun. This may not be as dense or complex as I usually like in my fusion, but it’s just a perfect combination of upbeat and chill which is a very hard medium to achieve so good on them. Cade O Sol is another phenomenal song with a really great proggy keyboard riff that gets layered and harmonized to death and I love it. Repetition is a prog bands greatest instrument, but it can easily go wrong and good songwriters know how to make it work. Migration, Frio, and of course the final track Partida are all incredibly entertaining. There’s really only one song that doesn’t do much for me on this album and you can probably guess which one. Honey Bee has some nice moments, but it just doesn’t quite hook me like the rest of the album. I guess I’m accusing it of being boring, but certainly not bad.
This is one of those albums I feel like I could go on about all day. I spend so much of my life listening to metal and prog rock which is 100% by choice and I wouldn’t change a thing about my life, but I don’t end up having much time for jazz and fusion which are my other passions in music, so it’s really refreshing to stumble upon an album like this. This wasn’t even a promo, I just happened to find this, I contacted Souza and I asked him a little bit about the band’s history and the full album credits (which were otherwise impossible to find), so I strongly recommend all you prog/fusion heads to go and get this album right now, seriously you want this in.
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