There is a particular kind of electricity that only happens when a basement band realizes they are actually a riot in the making and that heat is exactly what Kombucha bottled on their debut title track Dude, Spiral!. It starts with a reckless urgency that feels like a midnight sprint through the narrow streets of Lisbon because these teenagers have clearly spent those legendary ten hour Saturday sessions sharpening every jagged edge of their sound. Salvador Barros possesses a voice that doesn’t merely sit on top of the music but instead fights its way through the thicket of bass and drums and guitar to demand your attention from the very first note. This is the sound of four kids who found each other in a rehearsal room and decided that the world needed a massive wake up call.
While most new acts are content to mimic the chilled out indie tropes of the current streaming era it is refreshing to hear a group lean so heavily into the aggressive soul of Alternative Metal and the rubbery funk of the nineties. You can hear the ghosts of System of a Down in the way the tempo shifts and the singing pivots from a melodic croon to a full throated roar but the band manages to keep things grounded with a groove that would make Flea proud. Diogo Simões provides a low end that acts as a physical weight and Mauro Ferreira hits the skins with a deliberate violence that reminds me of the best moments on Nevermind yet there is a distinct sense of polish that keeps the track from feeling like a mere period piece.
Kombucha is the reminder we needed that rock music is still the most effective way to channel the beautiful frustration of youth and this EP is a monumental first step for a band that clearly has no intention of playing it safe. They have taken the heavy weight of their influences and forged something that feels vital and new and entirely their own. If this is what they are capable of after only a year of existence then the rest of the industry should probably start paying very close attention. Alternative Rock is in very good hands.
