LASSO – Parte LP

After honing their sound across 3 7” EPs, Brazilian hardcore band Lasso delivers their debut 14-track full-length LP, Parte. One expects a degree of maturation when a group makes the jump from small to large vinyl, and while Lasso doesn’t go on any jazz odysseys here, Parte captures them at a peak of dexterity and ambition without compromising the frenetic intensity of their earlier material. For an album that’s so relentless, so dense, and so fucking fast, there’s a staggering degree of subtlety to Parte, from the complex guitar textures (infusing flurries of power chords with richer, Die Kreuzen-esque fretwork) to the razor sharp, Jeff Nelson-esque snare rolls, to the delicate rhythmic accents that give a sheen of sophistication to otherwise bulldozing tracks like “Fundo do Poço Sem Fundo” and “Ilha de Silêncio.” While Lasso’s music has always echoed the desperate intensity of 80s Brazilian hardcore—and Parte is no exception—the precision of their ensemble playing and their knack for infusing their bellicose roar with memorable touches of musicality put Lasso in a class of their own.