Festa de Adeus

If I had to choose a soundtrack that captures the ethos of Rio de Janeiro’s middle-class millennials at its best I’d pick Julio Secchin’s music. At first glance, it may seem that “Festa de Adeus” (2019) explores familiar themes — disillusionment with love, for example. However, by doing it in such a sarcastic, honest, too-cool-to-care way, the album is truly authentic Brazilian indie-pop. Actually, “pop” is a quite narrowing description of “Festa de Adeus”, whose neat arrangements go beyond genre barriers, exploring as it does the worlds of samba, axé Bahia, and MPB music. Other than singing humorous lyrics about breakups, polyamorous love, Ecstasy, and the hedonism of Rio’s Carnival, Secchin also takes a clear political stand in the track “Arco-Íris Preto” (Black Rainbow), where, among other things, he criticizes the genocide of Black people in Brazil. “Boi Tolo” and “Quero Um Carnaval,” on the other hand, are dancing gems that take you to the memorable Rio Carnival street parties — you will get the feeling even if you have never been to one.