An Album Release from Felipe Pupo
The latest release from Felipe Pupo is an absolute soiree of punk, heavy rock, Afrobeat, and loads more, all rolled into one fat record that delivers a ton of colorful yet edgy energy that you can't turn away from.
The Reggie!!! album brings out such an eclectic yet confluent set of songs and throughout its unfolding, you become more and more attached and engulfed in everything it has to offer.
There are definitely some strong punk rock vibes going on with some of these amazing guitar tones, thrashy style energy, and unique approaches to songwriting but, there's also some alternative rock and indie rock strewn in along with again, a lot of other unique approaches in genres that let the album feel alive and breathing.
Songs like "Don't Rain on My Parade" have such a cool and blistering style to them. This track has such insane drumming that the song just gets right up in your face energy-wise and doesn't let up.
It's got a very particular style when it comes to lyrical phrasing and time signatures as well but you get a lot of that throughout the album's course.
Other tracks like "The Line" give you something a bit different. You have such brilliant percussion with layers of overdubs and just this crazy almost rambunctious approach.
This one has more of that Afrobeat style but also brings in heavy rock with great guitar work and more.
One of the most imperative parts of this record aside from everything, is the bass guitar lines and tones. The bass guitar throughout this record is super important because it lays the foundations for verses and lyrics.
A lot of the verses throughout this record have a quirkiness to them and that is one of the more outside-the-box elements of the record and the bass guitar lines are a key factor in having those parts work out the way they do.
The actual musicianship across this whole record is insane but what really grabs me is that energy. There's something about this record that feels almost like a live performance. It feels like a bunch of guys in a room feeding off of each other the entire time and that's what's giving you such a punchy energy.
There's also some great guitar work across the record with some lead stuff happening here and there, layers of tone meshing into each other, textures layering on top of each other and it all creates this atmosphere that you get pulled into.
Tracks like "Vultures" display some of that outstanding guitar work at hand and how it creates a sort of vast undertone at times.
By the time you get to the third or fourth song of this release, you begin to expect the unexpected.
This is absolutely refreshing to me because it doesn't happen often.
Reggie!!! Is one of those albums where you should be listening to it all the way through.
Listening to just a few tracks won't give you the full spectrum of what the album gives you.
It'll give you an idea. You might get a gist of what you can expect in certain aspects because there are staples to this record soundscape-wise and approach-wise, but to really soak in everything it has to offer, you have to listen to it from beginning to end.
The vocals have a unique approach as well giving you a particular swagger and style that also becomes a very big staple of the record and delivers plenty of personality and character along with it.
This was a wild record that fused a set of genres and even culturally buoyant approaches and there are plenty of surprises around its corners.
Again, that energy level and blend of punk, afrobeat, and rock is a brilliant approach, and other aspects of the record that will surely blow you away but I'm not going to give everything away right here and now.
Most certainly check out this record, freshly released from the A-Ha Network label out of Philadelphia.
You certainly don't want to miss this.
