Schizo Fun Addict - A Shoegaze Bossa Nova

  by Kimberly Bright

published: 14 / 1 / 2019

Label: Sugarbush Records
Format: LP

intro

Intriguing new album from Schizo Fun Addict which fuses shoegaze with retro Brazilian music

The title of Schizo Fun Addict's new album tells you everything you need to know, if you also happen to be craving a fusion of shoegaze and bossa nova. It turns out that this unlikely marriage makes total sense: slow grooves and dreamy vocals. Bossa nova saved the band's leader Jet Wintzer from a broken heart, specifically classic late 50’s-early 60’s Brazilian artists like guitarist Antonio Carlos Jobim (the biggie of the original genre when it was popular), Sergio Mendes, and Brasil 66. In the album's press release Wintzer says, “ We wanted to give the album a cinematic feel of epic romance. The spirit of bossa nova made me believe in the eternity of true love. Before its wonder overtook me, I was simply a juvenile.” It's not surprising then that much of the songs, especially ‘Shadow Bossa,’ sound like riffs on ‘The Girl From Ipanema’, written by Jobim. Robert Muolo's retro-sounding trumpet and Jayne Gabriel's dreamy vocals sound like they were recorded in a tunnel forty-five years ago and beamed to the present day, both heavy on the reverb and echo. The brief but captivating ‘A 51 Second Encounter’ and ‘Day Alive’ could have been lifted from a ‘Mad Man’ episode or a long-lost Claudine Longet song. Genuine bossa nova bass lines, notoriously challenging for people who did not grow up in Brazilian culture (I'm told, anyway), are played by co-producer Adam Vaccarelli. ‘A Plan for Love’ starts out as though it missed the bossa nova mission statement and then recovers, but the remainder of the album seems to abandon it entirely and return to indie shoegaze with ‘Alone at Makaha’ and ‘Voltage Alert’. ‘El Shoegaze Bossa Nova’ feels like grown-up lounge music, like that found on the 90’s Rhino Records' Cocktail Mix compilation series. It's probably not a sustainable new genre for the band, but this fusion was a worthwhile experiment.

Track Listing:-