Brazil!

Whatever Hawking said, it always came out sounding like Kraftwerk.

by Rodney Anonymous

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Published: Mar 23, 2010

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In the early '90s, eminent physicists Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose found themselves in a heated debate over whether gothic/electronic music would be more appealing if the lyrics were sung in Portuguese. Penrose claimed that the Doppler shift in language would be a great improvement, whereas whatever Hawking said, it always came out sounding like Kraftwerk.

The debate remained strictly theoretical until the emergence of Brazil's Pecadores (Sinners), who not only sing in Portuguese (OK, "Humility," "Hell Is Fine" and "Paranoia" are sung in English) but have also made it their raison d'être to explore the darker side of organized religion. The lighter side being free wafers and the chance to handle snakes.

Speaking of snakes, Pecadores' newest release on Wave Records, Rogai Por Nos (Pray for Us), is a twisting, hissing, slithering beast that's equal parts wicked electronica and sample-driven voodoo ceremony. If there were a soundtrack for the mass suicide at Jonestown, Rogai Por Nos would be it.

Seriously, how could you not love the band who penned the lyrics "Hell is fine/ Sex, dope and wine/ Especially at night/ You should try!" — and then actually wrote music to go with it? And "Zé do Caixão," a tribute to Mexican horror film icon Coffin Joe, has got to be worth at least three Grammys.

Verdict:

South of the equator, toilet water swirls counterclockwise, Goths tinge their music with a hint of salsa and all is fine. Sex, dope and wine. Especially at night. You should try.

(r_anonymous@citypaper.net)

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