Critic's evaluation
A new name emerges in buzz on the São Paulo music scene. Now venturing into a solo career, singer and composer Pedro Palma launches himself into an introspective environment, something that yielded the composition, conception, production and release of Distopia, his debut EP.
At the command of Matheus Reis do Prado, a rough guitar gives the awakening of an environment that already illustrates silhouettes that blend between indie rock and alternative rock. A bulging, full-bodied lightning bolt produced by Jeferson Elias's bursting bass enters the context soon after, giving it body and swing. Taking a path that leads to a rhythmic maturation in a way that resembles the The Offspring's aesthetics, the sound assumes contagious and explosive pop punk airs. It is then that a bittersweet timbre invades the scene completing the melodic conjuncture. Pedro Palma, during the minimalist verse that has the bass responsible for guiding the sound, begins to illustrate to the listener the figure of the lyric-character who guides the whole plot of the song, which speaks, with an autobiographical tone between the lines, of someone driven by uncertainty. Mote is nothing more than the description of an interlocutor on the path to the process of self-knowledge, someone who, at last, lets his essence out in order to feel free and alive. The character's motto is inner strength, but this conclusion does not prevent Palma from questioning the listener about what his motivations are. "O que te faz levantar? Por que precisa lutar? Qual é o seu caminhar? O que te motiva?", he asks in order to instigate the viewer to discover such answers about himself.
The sound of distortion on the guitar comes like beams of sunlight appearing from behind the mountains bringing the dawn. Alongside the punch of Lucas Teixeira's drums, the instrument helps create a melancholic introduction governed by the linearity of the bass in the rhythmic aisle. Managing to be contagious in its tears, the song flows into a verse based on the bass-drums metric, moment in which the guitar offers only a few taps, in order to create a stimulating bar in its minimalism. Taking the body of a kind of self-analysis capable of building a latent proximity with the listener, Segue O Gado dialogues about the massive effect of routine on the individual's self-esteem. Flirting lightly with reggae, the song possesses a latent groove while helping the viewer to reflect, as in Mote, on what is the source of motivation. The loss of the essence in favor of the day-to-day, the comings and goings of work, sometimes makes a person forget their dreams and what once made them smile. "Não dá mais", surrenders the character. Segue O Gado is simply a cry of no more self-devaluation and the loss of the light that once governed the one who was a dreamer, an enthusiast, and a planner of the future and of life.
If Segue O Gado had a melancholic breeze, the present introduction brings the ingredient as the main element in the melodic construction. Pulled by an introspective and sullen guitar, the sound is like an imaginary scenario in which a child, kneeling on the mattress of his own bed, watches, leaning on the misty window and with watery eyes, the rain falling outside, adding textures to the blackness of the night. Such tears, sometimes shy, sometimes uncontrolled, leave the bosom of her face constantly moist, while the enigmatic horizon is confused with mental images reflected by the fast drifting of memories. This is how A Janela reveals itself to the listener. Introspective, reflective, and with generous scents of sadness, the song is filled with a melodic burst that represents the anguish experienced by the character. After all, in A Janela the interlocutor perceives himself lost, without motivation, and immersed in the agony of fear and insecurity. A Janela is a dramatic song replete with rhymes that represent the screaming need for a comforting, calming, and protective embrace. Something that makes the character feel important, wanted. All of this occurred after a major transformation in the subject's life, an event that took him out of his comfort zone and made him realize the real essence of the thinking of those around him. Disappointment goes hand in hand with fear, but the strength to overcome it is the main quest of A Janela, a quest made tooth and nail by someone who simply wants to feel welcome.
Moving away from the bloody drama of A Janela, the listener dives into a lighter, more infectious atmosphere. Based on the 4x4 structure in a 4x4 melody, the title track communicates directly with A Janela in the sense that while in one there is the need for welcoming from a difficult decision, in the second there is a mature and even courageous vision about the society in which the character is inserted. This is where there is criticism of conservatism, of social homogenization as synonymous with impunity and intolerance. Still, the title track is a product that sells empowerment, resistance, and strength. A song that shows that those who live the same situation are not alone, and that through union it is possible to destroy the idea of alienation from the different. With visible criticism to the posture of the current president, the song is a protest. A cry of enough is enough.
It is chaos. It is fear. It's the new. It's tiredness. Distopia is a strong and autobiographical EP that talks about the feelings and experiences of those who realize that their true essence does not match the social standard of the community they are part of, of the idea of homogenization sold by conservatism.
Managing to be delicate, visceral, and at the same time strong and combative, the EP is a Pedro Palma's scream of "enough" to impunity, to the conscious construction, on the part of intolerance, of the anonymity of those who are not part of the acceptable normality. The one who tarnishes the false idea of social purity.
Mixing indie rock, pop rock, alternative rock, and pop punk, Distopia manages to bring songs with strong lyricism without losing the character of contagion and attraction. With it, the listener feels entertained, but at the same time invited to reflect on their own motivational questions. Bringing such dialogues together was a great achievement by Felipe Martins and Pedro Henrique Marques Robes, who tuned in to the energy of the work and managed to synthesize all the emotions in a melodic path of lucidity and commotion.
Finally, the cover art comes to add to the idea of shock. Signed by Dhyogo Oliveira and Felipe Rufino, it brings a black background with Palma's face in evidence. The tone of the hair and the black spots that fill the skin of the face suggest the idea of dirt, of marginalization, something routinely experienced by those who are outside the social standard.
Released on 09/23/2022 via Bolo de Rolo, Distopia is an EP that screams and suffers from social reprisals. However, it is also a work that mocks the idea that being different is a misdemeanor, something morally punishable. In summary, Distopia is the inner chaos towards self-acceptance, self-knowledge, and empowerment.
