In Remembrance: Brazil
Brazil may never have been fully understood, but since they left us so soon, who’s really to blame?
Being from Indiana, I’ve started to see a trend of us Hoosiers catching a lot of flak for being uneducated, uncultured, etc. While all this is discouraging to me, it’s quite understandable; I mean are we at the forefront of fashion or entertainment? No. Do we have any spectacular music scenes? Baring a few college towns, no. Do we have any great literary minds? Our only hope for literary greatness died a few years ago and went by the name Vonnegut – so, no. Do we have any great bands? Well, you might find a couple, but perhaps one of the best in the last decade decided to call it quits in 2007. I am, of course, referring to Muncie natives, Brazil.
Brazil is arguably one of the most intelligent bands I’ve ever listened to. So much so that I’d being lying if I told you I even grasped a quarter of the subject matter in their songs. Incomprehension aside, I can still appreciate that during their time, Brazil sought to create some of the most refined, thought provoking, and dark music of any of their contemporaries.
Formed in 2001 by brothers Jonathon and Nic Newby, along with Aaron Smith and Jonny Richardson upon Jonathon’s return from living in Belgian, Brazil began recording their first demos in the basement of an old church then owned by Jonathon. In early 2001 the band started doing small tours and various shows scattered throughout the Midwest. In August the band set out for a self-booked three-week tour of the U.S. During this time they caught the attention of California record label, Fearless Records.
Brazil signed a contract with Fearless to release their debut EP, Dasein in 2002. After the release of Dasein, which received mixed reviews among critics, Brazil returned to the road to tour in support of the EP. After an exhausting five months of touring the band returned home to work on their first full-length album, which would also be released by Fearless.
2004 saw the release of Brazil’s first LP, A Hostage And The Meaning Of Life. The album was produced by Alex Newport (who had previously worked with At The Drive-In and would later work with the likes of The Mars Volta, O’Death and Two Gallants) and was recorded in California. Those who had heard Dasein, weren’t prepared for the ensuing genius that was A Hostage And The Meaning Of Life. After receiving several 5/5 reviews from critics, including Alterative Press and Emotionalpunk.com, Brazil embarked on a 14-month tour.
class="">Brazil returned to the studio in 2006 after signing a new record deal with Immortal Records. The 2006 release of The Philosophy of Velocity marked the pinnacle of Brazil’s career. In their second LP the band experimented with a conceptual story and saw deeper, darker themes arise in their lyrical content.
Throughout Brazil’s existence they were constantly compared to other bands, regardless of the fact they had a sound all their own. Their trademark sound, a somewhat depressing, progressive mixture of classical piano arrangements juxtaposed with a post-hardcore attitude, was something far different than most of the bands they were compared to ever attempted. One comparison that was often drawn was with El Paso post-hardcore band, At The Drive-In. While the two bands shared a producer and record label, this comparison seems to be primarily rooted in the fact that the vocalists from the two bands shared a similar range and vocal style.
In August 2007, vocalist Jonathon Newby decided to call it quits, which effectively ended the band as a whole. He stated no reason for his decision to do so apart from the very vague, “personal reasons.” Since the breakup Jonathon has started recording music under the pseudonym Jonathon Christmas, as well as starting his own record label and publishing company whose sole purpose is to release his own work. The remaining members of Brazil are still working on their own musical endeavors, however, have no explicit plans to release any new material or tour (due to the somewhat incredible amount of musicians that were cycled through Brazil during its existence I won’t be delving into each member’s activities). Brazil released a posthumous EP title Ere I Am J.H. in late 2008.
Posted by Andrew Scott on Sep 07, 2009 @ 9:00 am