Hellbenders play their songs like they’re an emergency. Like they’re trying to put out a fire with riffs. And I don’t care what you say about immediacy or a band being hungry, there’s a brand of sonic recklessness that can only possibly come from youth, and the Brazilian four-piece definitely have that on their barn-burning side. Of the three tracks available for hearing on their MySpace, I probably dig the surprisingly upbeat “Whorehouse Murder” most, with its rampant soloing and catchy chorus, but “Hurricane,” rushes with appropriate storm surge as well, and though “Escape Song” gets into punkier territory than I usually prefer, it’s not without its moments either.

A double-guitar, double-vocal four-piece from Goiás, the first-name-only Hellbenders are propelled by the next-level drumming of Rodrigo, who makes “Hurricane” an immediate standout with snare snaps that have you tapping along whether you want to or not. From there, both guitarists/vocalists Diogo and Braz take the lead while bassist Vitor Noah adds low end to the shuffle. Hellbenders aren’t making the most original rock out there, but with age on their side, they bring a sense of novelty that you can hear when you listen to the tracks.

I keep a list of bands to do for future On the Radar posts, and though when I looked at it this morning I thought to myself, “Who the hell are Hellbenders?” it didn’t take me 10 seconds to remember what about them stuck out to me. In three short tracks, they remind that yeah, sure, it’s all been done before, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still have a good time along the way, and that some songs are just better played fast. Check them out on MySpace or take a listen to “Hurricane” below and see if you don’t agree.

Tags: Brazil, Goiás, Hellbenders, Unsigned bands

This entry was posted on Friday, November 5th, 2010 at 2:00 pm and is filed under On the Radar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.