Desumanos

While recording a Felipe Cordeiro album back in 2013, the musicians found their studio jam sessions so enjoyable that they knew they were onto something. Years later Liminha, once of Os Mutantes, popped into the studio and Desumanos was born. Their formula is simple, but revelatory. There are three lead guitarists, one being Liminha playing surf rock à la Dick Dale, while father-and-son duo Manoel and Felipe Cordeiro, both from Pará in the north of Brazil, play riffs influenced by the regional styles of carimbó and guitarrada.

All three play ultra clean, with no effects, and their interchange is remarkable, taking you from a nostalgic 50s-style guitar instrumental to an Amazonian hoedown in the blink of an eye. On ‘Arena’ with its chugging riff and a lead melody that just builds and builds, it's like you’re listening to Dire Straits in a parallel dimension, where their music not only makes sense, but leaves you punching the air with joy. ‘Na Estrada’ and ‘Lambada Desumana’ are two of the finest north Brazilian guitar instrumentals you’re likely to hear, but it's those tracks where worlds collide that excite the most, as per final track ‘Boizinho dos Caétes’ with its heavy rhythm and dancing guitar lines.