Desert Dance: Meister’s Fresh Blood

Approximately one year ago the band Desert Dance released their debut EP Open Secrets and it took just that long to find it’s way to The Meister, but here it is. A good friend of mine, awesome rock photographer Edu Lawless (Edu Lawless Flickr), passed me the CD recently while we were on The Monsters Of Rock Cruise. It’s always hard when someone hands you a CD of their friend’s band and says something like “maybe if you like it you can post something on Decibel Geek”. What if you don’t like it, what if it’s awful?

Well, here goes. The first of the five tracks contained is nothing more than a 25 second intro, “Open Secrets”, that basically doesn’t serve a huge purpose, but does lead off the first actual track on Open Secrets. “Louder, Faster and Sleeze”, which makes me sit right up and take notice, comes quickly after the intro. The vocals are so very over the top 80’s it’s crazy and I love it! It instantly (and every time since) tugs at my weakening every day with age memory strings reminding me of another band or song that I just can’t quite bring to fruition. There’s grinding riffs, a gang vocal chorus and some shredding guitar solo work to complete the mix on this great throwback to 80’s sleaze track. “Dance” is next up and it switches gears a little into a more blues-infused tempo-changing track, another decent composition. The soft vocal chorus found in “Crime Town” is a bit of a weird fit, or maybe not a fit at all. I can’t quite decide, but in any case it’s a contrast to the hard rocking edge of the rest of the track. The final inclusion is “Letting You Know” following in the same vein as “Dance” and “Crime Town”, good, but not absolutely fantastic.

Hailing from Sao Paulo Brasil, Desert Dance is comprised of Junior Rodrigues (vocals), Lizzy Louiz (guitar), Leonardo Xavier (bass) and Nico “The Boss” (drums) all between the ages of 18 and 22. They formed February 1, 2014 according to their Facebook Page and the band’s name is derived from “the musician’s fascination with the mystery of the optical delusions of the mirages and the extreme situations that man can face in nature. At the highest point of dehydration a battered person pass through serious clinical impairments until stress and tension bring shock, the “desert dance”.”.

Is this an awesome blow you away EP? Hell no! Are these pretty damn good songs that show the potential these four Brazilian guys have for making some stellar music in the future? Hell yes! With this EP being issued in June 2014, I sure hope that a full-length debut is just around the corner…until then I’m doing it “Louder, Faster and Sleeze”! Take a listen below and let me know what you think.

BUY: Desert Dance-Open Secrets