Bonde do Rolê

Brazilian trio Bonde Do Role were discovered by Diplo, while the American DJ was in Rio scavenging for CD-Rs of funk carioca—a genre of Brazilian party music he helped popularize through his work with M.I.A. Bonde do Role don't hail from the hillside slums like most of the funkeiros; though they embrace the music's klepto-pop aesthetic, their sample-happy tunes are more the work of art-school impishness than favela chic.

The trio hotwires funk carioca's deep and dirty electro rhythms, tricking them out with all manner of ADD accoutrements and candy-colored production twists. The frenetic, busy sound of this debut LP is largely thanks to Bonde's Rodrigo Gorky, who's a solid DJ and producer in his own right. He performs a lot of high-risk, high-payoff sonic gymnastics here, from dazzling 8-bit Casiotone melodies to meaty guitar hooks straight off a hair metal track (or is that Daft Punk? Lasers indeed).

But gleeful excess is a tough formula to pull off all the time, and occasionally the pastiche dissolves into a garish chorus of kazooes (literally). At times like these, it's Bonde's MC Marina Ribatski who comes to the rescue. Her charmingly bratty rapping is irresistible, whether she's spouting a stream of dirty Portuguese or puzzling English ("Meet me after school and I beat you like gorilla!"). It's these kind of playful and baffling details that make With Lasers a thoroughly enjoyable record.

—Toby Warner
05.30.07

Brazilian funk carioca group Bonde do Rolê have been amusing and entertaining audiences worldwide ever since DJ-extraordinaire/tastemaker Diplo discovered the trio in their home country and signed them to his fledgling label, Mad Decent, in 2006. While Bonde do Rolê's earlier work was known for its gratuitous use of easily recognizable samples with lead MC Marina Ribatski's vocals chanted over, on their debut full-length With Lasers, the band uses a live guitarist to re-create the feel of '80s hair metal that infiltrates tracks like the first single "Office Boy," the harder "Bondallica," and "Dança do Zumbi." Diplo's own eclectic touch is definitely felt, as the album meanders about through techno, early-'90s dance pop, soca, and, of course, samba. This isn't "traditional" funk carioca, or baile funk, but it's a fun, danceable hybrid of beats that are catchy and to the point. "Solta o Frango" combines playground-esque sing-songy vocal lines with keyboard bleeps and Brazilian rhythms; it's short -- as are most of the tracks on the record -- clocking in at just a little over two minutes, but that's part of Bonde do Rolê's appeal: they're not going to drag things out with interminable percussive breaks and breakdowns. Instead, they're about celebrating their youth and impatience, moving onto the next thing before the first one is even done but maintaining an exuberant consistency throughout With Lasers' entirety. From the low brass riffs in "Marina Gasolina" to their take on a spy theme in "James Bonde" to the raw vocals on the kazoo-laden "Geremia" to the very M.I.A.-ish "Marina do Bairro," the band spits and struts their way with confidence, energy, and a lot of style. With Lasers is definitely the kind of sexy, summer music that probably won't, like most trends of its kind, be a record that will last for years and years, but while it's hot, while it's out, while it's banging out the stereo onto the scorched pavement around it, take advantage of it. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide