File Under: Indulgent Rock rating: C+ tracks 1. Monolithic 2. Erasure 3. Saturn Parkway 4. Canon 5. Life Death 6. It Keeps the Machine Running related links Brazil Fearless Records

The description Fearless Records gives Brazil's debut EP, Dasein, in their catalog insert is, "a cross between At the Drive In (another Fearless band), Camera Obscura, and Radiohead," is a bit stretched, but one could see how this conclusion was drawn. The vocals are very distinct, almost at a scream-level, and songs such as track one, "Monolithic," have abrupt tone changes.

The lyrics are quite trite though, weaving uneven images of mechanical and human juxtapositions; it seems as though there's supposed to be an underlying theme, with the song titles, album artwork (which fits the record nicely), and typeset for the liner notes. Initially all these elements give off this feeling, though the second and third tracks ("Erasure" and "Saturn Parkway" respectively) have lines pertaining to sticking needles in holes.

The six members listed as being part of Brazil are not all heard - there only seems to be four people playing at once. But the additional musicians adding strings at various, though not many, points within the record work quite well. The addition of piano and heavily distorted guitars livens up the record, though. The tracks tend to drag though - there is not much musical variety or tempo changes. The only saving grace is the track titled "Canon," one of the longer songs, it flows and ebbs nicely, weaving a musical imagery that pulsates even more with a more apparent piano and bass-driven melody towards the middle.

A strong debut, Dasein is a fairly unimpressive attempt at melding a rock and electronic feel using the seeming contradictions of soft, distinct piano, strings, and guitar distortion, pounding out chord-heavy, structurally simple songs.

Tom Fraher is a Contributing Writer. Contact him at tomf@rockzone.com.