Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Includes:
- 8 track album
- Album artwork
- Digital booklet (PDF) with lyrics and photos
Purchasable with gift card
$6USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
“Please Come to Brazil” is the debut release by Long Island-based trio J & the A-Holes, a musical group whose unique style of performance blends progressive rock, metal, funk and jazz-fusion, all with an underlying vibe of feel-good humor. Formed in 2012, the band comprises John Adam “J.A.” Strub on keyboard, guitar, and vocals, Michael “Mikey Shoolz” Schuler on bass, saxophone, and guitar, and Johnnie Luca on drums and vocals. Stylistically, J & the A-Holes are known for their eclectic songwriting, which is characterized by unusual time signatures, extended instrumental breaks, jazzy chord progressions, unpredictable stop-start sections, and intricate, riff-based melodies. However, despite the complexity of their compositional style, the band does not place a heavy emphasis on technicality, stating on their website that “while we certainly respect chops, our focus is much more oriented around groove and feel”. Ultimately, the band’s overall vision is “to create music that is fun to play and even more fun to listen to”.
“Please Come to Brazil” provides a mixed offering of various styles, moods and instrumentations. The songwriting on the record is split fairly evenly between Schuler and Strub, who both have a pension for blending jazz, soul and progressive elements in their music. Schuler, who is credited with all 4 instrumentals on the album, usually centers his songwriting around complex bass riffs, angular time feels, and soulful, melodic soloing. Strub, who is the group’s primary singer, takes a more vocally-oriented approach, writing songs with unusual structures and chord progressions punctuated by an anthemic chorus or a dynamic musical bridge. This album offers a broad variety of genres, ranging from jazz (There’s No Need, Groove Palpitations, etc.) to prog (The Dreamer, Heaven’s Gate, etc.) to straight-up hard rock (Child of the Void, The Forest and the Train, etc.). Luca, while he did not contribute any compositions, is far from absent from the record, playing drums throughout, and overdubbing guitar and vocals on nearly every cut. His raw and intense style of drumming gives some much-needed brawn to the otherwise mellow release. Mood-wise, the album is quite diverse. As one can tell from the title, and from the band’s own name, there is a serious amount of novelty and goofy humor woven into the mostly sincere and cerebral songwriting, in the form of silly musical references and jerky stop-start sections that fake out the listener. Schuler’s melodic bass riffing on “Chaos in Common” and Strub’s inspirational single, “There’s No Need”, give the first half of the record a warm, feel-good glow. However, the album takes a much more serious turn with the last few tracks, which put a slight damper on the exclusively happy vibe of the first few tracks and challenge listeners to give second thought to what they’re hearing.
Includes unlimited streaming of Please Come to Brazil
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
...more
“Please Come to Brazil” is the debut release by Long Island-based trio J & the A-Holes, a musical group whose unique style of performance blends progressive rock, metal, funk and jazz-fusion, all with an underlying vibe of feel-good humor. Formed in 2012, the band comprises John Adam “J.A.” Strub on keyboard, guitar, and vocals, Michael “Mikey Shoolz” Schuler on bass, saxophone, and guitar, and Johnnie Luca on drums and vocals. Stylistically, J & the A-Holes are known for their eclectic songwriting, which is characterized by unusual time signatures, extended instrumental breaks, jazzy chord progressions, unpredictable stop-start sections, and intricate, riff-based melodies. However, despite the complexity of their compositional style, the band does not place a heavy emphasis on technicality, stating on their website that “while we certainly respect chops, our focus is much more oriented around groove and feel”. Ultimately, the band’s overall vision is “to create music that is fun to play and even more fun to listen to”.
“Please Come to Brazil” provides a mixed offering of various styles, moods and instrumentations. The songwriting on the record is split fairly evenly between Schuler and Strub, who both have a pension for blending jazz, soul and progressive elements in their music. Schuler, who is credited with all 4 instrumentals on the album, usually centers his songwriting around complex bass riffs, angular time feels, and soulful, melodic soloing. Strub, who is the group’s primary singer, takes a more vocally-oriented approach, writing songs with unusual structures and chord progressions punctuated by an anthemic chorus or a dynamic musical bridge. This album offers a broad variety of genres, ranging from jazz (There’s No Need, Groove Palpitations, etc.) to prog (The Dreamer, Heaven’s Gate, etc.) to straight-up hard rock (Child of the Void, The Forest and the Train, etc.). Luca, while he did not contribute any compositions, is far from absent from the record, playing drums throughout, and overdubbing guitar and vocals on nearly every cut. His raw and intense style of drumming gives some much-needed brawn to the otherwise mellow release. Mood-wise, the album is quite diverse. As one can tell from the title, and from the band’s own name, there is a serious amount of novelty and goofy humor woven into the mostly sincere and cerebral songwriting, in the form of silly musical references and jerky stop-start sections that fake out the listener. Schuler’s melodic bass riffing on “Chaos in Common” and Strub’s inspirational single, “There’s No Need”, give the first half of the record a warm, feel-good glow. However, the album takes a much more serious turn with the last few tracks, which put a slight damper on the exclusively happy vibe of the first few tracks and challenge listeners to give second thought to what they’re hearing.
The Long Island metal band's third album etches arena-sized hooks into their jagged compositions, deftly balancing experimental and poppy inclinations. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 12, 2022
