Brazilian natives, the three Fagundes brothers have been active in the music scene since the early 90s. Now based in London, they have released their latest effort, “Creation Room”, named after the very room where the brothers first played together back in Brazil. The music of Chapa is largely piano based, accentuated with rock guitar and harmonizing vocals. Siblings naturally sound great when harmonizing, and the Fagundes brothers are no exception.
The upbeat opener “Before You Go”, which happens to be the first single, is a quirky and choppy composition, and consequently is a shaky way to introduce us to the band. Chapa’s strong suit comes with the following piano ballad, “Just A Dream”, a much more conventional arrangement and the band’s best performance on the record. Some other highlights include “Somebody Is Crying For You”, “Killing Time”, and the bouncy powerpop of “Highs and Lows”. Unfortunately, the melodies crafted for the other songs don’t go anywhere interesting and the lyrics are pretty pedantic.
Chapa has a lot of style, but I find them lacking in substance. Underneath the shiny veneer, most of the songs simply aren’t good enough to be memorable. I believe the talent is there, but the brothers need to work on their chemistry and songwriting.
iPOD-worthy: 2, 6, 8, 10
Chapa on MySpace. Official site.
Listen to “Just A Dream”
