Customer Reviews

Falange Canibal

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my favorite Lenine album, but it is rare and expensive if you can find it. If Peter Gabriel had been born in Brazil ...no, that's too easy. Lenine plays acoustic guitar like a percussion instrument, sings like Caetano with cahones, and the bass player is always upfront and center in the same way Tony Levin is upfront - the real difference between Lenine and Peter Gabriel is that Lenine swings.
Lenine is mysteriously absent from the typical U.S. hipster collection. He's more melodically driven than Chico Science, who might be found in such a collection. Until Science died a few years ago they were contemporaries on the cutting edge of progressive Brazillian pop/jazz/rock fusion. (It's hard to define this music because it fearlessly goes where ever it wants, but where Chico Science leans toward punk and heavy metal Lenine leans toward traditional Tropicalia and smooth funk.)
Let me put it this way, if you liked David Byrne's popular first compilation of Brazillian artists from the 60's (Belize Tropicale) and if you like Peter Gabriel's middle solo years then this is for you. All of Lenine's albums are worth a spin around the block (or the treadmill) and if you wonder if it's all studio magic then listen to Lenine "In Cite," a lean live album recorded with a powerhouse trio. The results are startling and powerful. This guy deserves a little limelight.
Ani DiFranco does a vocal turn on one demonic cut from Falange that's worth the price of admission.

I first got in contact with Lenine 4,5 years ago. He had released his second album then, i i was immediately grabbed by the "new" sound produced. Fantastic, this man could sing about social problems and missery without getting "heavy"
Over the years he got better and better. Na Pressão is a brilliant album, and Falange Canibal can be mentionned in one breath....I met Lenine once backstage in Amsterdam ( Holland ) a day i'll never forget.
The power of making statements without raising voice...

Lenine a musical master living in Brasil....Pernambuco falando ao mundo!

I'm a musician, and for me the most important thing is to be crative, do something, have his or her own style. That's Lenine. I was never very interested about his work. And I don't know why, I bought his album, and it's very good. Nothing is the same, you fly in a collection of experience, always in a good taste and mood. Very nice. Must have!

Lenine is one of Brazil's best modern rock/trip-hop artists, a key player in the revitilzation of their current indie scene. On this album he continues further along in his explorations of densely-layered, loose-grooved, weirdly concieved trip-pop, kind of similar to material by Ben Neill and David Holmes in the English-speaking pop world. This may be a bit dense for most the casual listener, but anyone looking for challenging, original material out of Brazil (or just out of their own frame of reference) will want to check this out. (For similar music, try Arnaldo Antunes, Arto Lindsay, or Caetano Veloso).

Being an almost Unconditional Fan of Lenine's work, which I personally regard as the Finest that Brazil's Popular Music has produced for over a Decade, I was naturally expecting a continuation of the Marvellous Song-Writing (which sadly one can only Fully appreciate if Fluent in Portuguese) and Musical Skills that he had us accustomed to. To a great extent, this New Effort did not disappoint and it is indeed Excellent from a purely Musical Standpoint...It still displays a Masterful blending of varied Musical Influences, such as Samba, Meringue, Salsa, Hip-Hop, Rock, ETC, as well as the Aforementioned Wonderful Song-Writing. BUT, the Production and Engineering Values have taken a Surprisingly Acute Drop! In just a Sentence, it is Horribly Compressed, Congested and Overtly Bassy. If you, like myself, listen to your Beloved music mainly on a High Quality Hi-Fi System, you will almost certainly find it Unbearable! Maybe it was Engineered for Portables and I-Pod likes...:-(. Curiously enough, the Only track that Sounds reasonably "Hi-Fi" is No.13, a Bonus Track Featuring and Produced by some Doctor L., unlike all other tracks. This is on the "French Edition", but I would not expect It to sound any Different from other Editions...
To summarize, Another Great Lenine Album, but on this Occasion spoiled by truly Awful Production! A real shame then. If you feel curious about Lenine's Music, start with "Olho De Peixe", "O Dia Em Que Faremos Contacto" e "Na Pressão", which are all Superb - and well Engineered!