Brazil - A Hostage and the Meaning of Life

It was April, and I had just moved back into my adopted hometown and was listening in to my college’s radio station where I was a former on-air personality. I thought, “Hm? When did At the Drive-In release that song?” I fell in love with what was gracing my ears: a little song by the title “Escape.” Much to my surprise, I later found out from a friend that it was not At the Drive-In, but was, in fact, a little known band by the name of Brazil. I began to question myself: Did I enjoy this remarkable song because I believed it was an unreleased track from ATDI, or did I enjoy this remarkable song merely because it rocked? After receiving Brazil’s debut album, A Hostage and the Meaning of Life, I listened to it everyday. I arrived at the conclusion that I loved the song, and this album because a genuinely amazing band created it. Scratch all the hoopla about Brazil ripping-off ATDI. True, Brazil have similar renegade and anti-system beliefs illustrated in their lyrics, and Jonathon Newby’s vocals are oddly familiar to Cedric Bixler Zavalas’s, but Brazil’s Newby keeps it organized and does not engage in the vocal-fits that Zavalas could conduct so well. And, yes, they do rest at-home on the same label (Fearless Records) that once accommodated ATDI. Comparisons, comparisons. I know. Even sometimes I can’t get over the likeness. However, I beg to question you: How many bands do you listen to that sound similar? Exactly! That’s why I learned to scrutinize this band and album for what it is and that’s enjoyable music. Brazil is worth their weight in gold. Brazil’s is truthfully a rags-to-riches story. The six-piece from Indiana had a rather tumultuous beginning. After brothers Jon and Nick found members Eric, James, Benjamin, and Aaron to complete the band, they funded their first tour with capital out of their own pockets, drained their bank accounts and nearly starved—talk about starving artists. The guys were eventually discovered by Fearless Records and were signed, showing that hard work rightly pays off. Now, they are playing the Vans Warped Tour, gaining greater recognition, more deference, and doting fans. A Hostage and the Meaning of Life is a montage of dreamy keyboard sounds woven in and through cunning guitars and catchy hooks. The track “A Hostage” begins the experience and gets immediately to the point. Fully-clad with crunchy guitars, it changes tempo and the mood mid-song but commences the dance again. Track two is “The Novemberist” and demonstrates those dreamy keyboard sounds I spoke of earlier. The hit track, “Escape,” features some magical guitar work, and Newby gives valuable advice: “Give me one thing/Escape is all I need” and “The right to make a world of your own/Escape overrides it all” and sings it very convincingly. My favorite, however, is the ninth track, “Metropol.” From its launch, it maneuvered me on waves created by guitars, keyboards, bass and drums and threw me—unexpectedly—revolving in a funky, jazzy ball, complete with fanatically, blaring horns. This album is hard. It’s mellow. It’s inspiring. It’s so tricky to place my finger on the precise reason why I love this album so very much, but I’m sure it’s everything Brazil wanted it to be. The only thing I ask—and I’m sure the band wishes the same—is that you blind yourself to similarities and listen with an open mind. This band is chock-full of talented musicians and deserves to be given props for creating such a fine piece of work. [www.braziltheband.com]