Fantasma Quase LP
Debut release from FANTASMA, a group started by Gustavo Venturelli and Lucas Cabu who immigrated from Brazil to New York City. Sung all in Portuguese, I can’t accurately describe anything more than their Bandcamp, which says the album “tells the story of a soul that aims to become real and establish a better future amidst dystopian times.” The post-punk instrumentation does an excellent job channeling this energy, with riffs that are dark, melodic, ceaseless, and—at times of extreme peril—ear-splitting. A few songs, like “Lugares Mais Altos,” take a slower, calmer approach with a rubbery bass, chord sweeps, and a feel that reaches for a memory (not knowing the lyrics, that’s where it takes me, anyhow). Having formed as a two-piece, the band is now filled out with Marc Grillo (STIGMATISM), Margaret Chardiet (PHARMAKON/DOLLHOUSE), and Craig. Had I heard this earlier, I think Quase would have easily placed in my 2025 year-end top ten. The album plays with mood, energy, and tempo, acting as a mirror to the modern scatterbrained sense of feeling everything at once equating to feeling nothing at all; finding some way to compartmentalize each piece. Fantastic debut.
