There is no beginning and no end, only eternal return. From there, we can even project the symbol of Ouroboros onto Water Damage’s music, with the notion that the circular trajectory brings with it the snake’s shedding of its skin. As if eternity were also an act of renewal in repetition. A cornerstone of minimalist thinking that is sublimated here with complete clarity and the recognition that Terry Riley’s ‘In C’ undermined much of the foundation of rock – Acid Mothers Temple’s version was a wake-up call to its electrified ecstasy – and is perpetuated in the Texan collective’s third album, In E. Six decades on, and with the canonization of Velvet Underground, ‘Outside the Dream Syndicate’, the journeys of krautrock, the guitars of Rhys Chatham and Glenn Branca, and the work of David Maranha, among other delights, rock in its most expansive sense continues to bring us examples of vitality in repetition and volume, such as these Water Damage. Starting from an arsenal of guitars, basses, drums, and violin, the band bases its long pieces on an uninterrupted groove that is rammed by waves of distortion, pulsating bass lines, and violin riffs that, with no apparent destination, stir up an everlasting fire, tangential to the abyss of some noise rock – marked in the cover of ‘Ladybird’ by Shit & Shine – and which, without giving in to riffing, draws out all the swing implicit in this archetype of the genre. And the gentle headbanging of hypnosis. Forever.
BS

Força Maior combines the vital saxophone explorations of Pedro Alves Sousa with the infinitely subtle electronic processing of Pedro Tavares. Sousa (aka Má Estrela) is known for manipulating his woodwind through guitar pedalboards & amplifiers, creating far-from-ordinary sonics rooted in unceasing curiosity. For his part, Tavares (aka funcionário) conjoins video & sound work to create space for the pensive wanderings where memory and imagination interlace.

The album Morte Lilás was recorded over a week in June 2023 in Pedro Alves Sousa’s family farm, located in the village of Ferreirim, near Lamego, in Portugal. The partly abandoned farm served as the residency, studio, and inspiration for the album: it is a 400-year-old granite farm that belonged to a member of the “40 conspirators”—a group that led the revolution for Portugal’s independence from Spain in the 17th century.

Morte Lilás is a remarkable album of committed meditation. Each day on the farm was a recording day for the two Pedros: Sousa on sax & electronics, Tavares on sampler & processing. Apart from slight sonic incursions from the surrounds—the birds on ‘Quinta à tarde’—and the sporadic use of sine tones, the source sounds all start from the saxophone. It is then processed both by Sousa & Tavares. The album unfolds as a saxophonic tapestry that breathes with quiet intensity. Each piece invites close listening, revealing fine gestures and tonal shifts that shape a contemplative, ambient space. Força Maior move with calm precision.

– Perf