Thiago Nassif Mente 180g LP

TAS Rated 4/5 Music, 4/5 Sonics in the April 2021 Issue of The Absolute Sound!

Thiago Nassif is a Brazilian musician, composer and producer based in Rio de Janeiro, whose impactful mélange of pop, jarring no-wave and edgy Tropicália has slowly been turning heads the world over.

Gearbox Records presents his latest album Mente, co-produced by no-wave icon Arto Lindsay, and representative, via its diverse list of accredited musicians, of the progressive, new-generational music scene that is bubbling away in Rio.

The album's title is a Portuguese homonym meaning "mind" and "to lie", and represents Thiago's attitude towards what he calls the "post-truth" state of Brazil's political regime. Mixing together the languages of Portuguese and English, Thiago goes deep into no-wave, experimental electronic music, Tropicalismo, jazz and rock, moving between funk carioca to dystopian, distorted bossa nova, and beyond.

The leading light of the new generation of Brazilian songwriters

Brilliant

sheer audaciousness and creativity... It's much unlike anything else you're likely to hear from a very broadly defined pop realm

Supposedly, musical genres can fuse together, but on Thiago Nassif's new album the combination of styles feels more like a collision. Nassif lives in Rio de Janeiro, and at times on Mente you'll hear strains of Brazilian music, including bossa nova. With their abrupt juxtapositions and retro-sounding keyboards, some tracks have a downtown East Village vibe. While the music is cerebral, jagged rhythms and off-kilter funk add a visceral element. To top it all off, Nassif has a knack for catchy pop hooks. The sum total is music that's engaging, provocative, unpredictable, and darkly seductive... I listened to it on vinyl, and I was impressed by the clarity, detail, and immediacy of the recording, as well as the noise-free wax.