Fearless Records, do you have no shame? Yes, At The Drive-In was one of the most original bands to come out of the 90s, and yes, they were on your label for a time, and yes you're still milking it for all it's worth. But must you further exploit their legacy by signing the biggest ATDI ripoffs I've ever heard?

Yes, that's right, I'm talking about Brazil. Guys, here's a piece of advice - anyone who has ever even had a passing interest in At The Drive-In will take one listen to you guys and realize just how bad you're plagiarizing them. The spoken word bit in "Canon," the dual vocalists in "Saturn Parkway," the catchy guitar harmonies of "Monolithic" - it's all been done before, and it was much, much better the first time around.

To add to the overall crap factor of the CD, the artwork is *horrendous.* Whoever did the layout for this CD should be shot. The font itself is godawful, it's one of those fonts you use in AOL Instant Messenger or something, and it looks amateur as all hell. Musically, the guitarists [I'm guessing there's two, since there's six guys in the band, but they don't say who does what in the liner notes] are pretty talented, and it sounds like they just have a mile long strip of effects pedals to play with. Nothing too wrong with that. But guys, fire your bassist and vocalist! Where Cedric's machine-gun delivery was perfectly accentuated with his over the top yowls and screams, the singer of this band [again, they don't say who does what - kind of makes sense, I'd be embarassed to be the singer of this band] is horribly out of tune and needlessly snotty. The bassist sounds like he just picked up the instrument a week before recording, as it's some of the most simplistic stuff I've ever heard for a band that should be more technical than this [given the style they're playing].

On the plus side, the band does make good use of a piano player in the band, as well as the use of a string quartet in some songs. The EP's closer "It Keeps The Machine Running" actually leaves me with some hope for the band - this track's swirling guitars, sliding piano, and swelling string section carry the song past the 5 minute mark, and it sounds really good.

So while Fearless seems to be blatently expoiting the memory of one of their few original bands, we can only hope that Brazil can put away their "Relationship of Command" CDs and try to come up with something more original the next time around.

MP3s
Monolithic
Erasure

Stream the whole EP here