As Mercenárias - The Beginning of the End of the World

The Beginning of the End of the World [O Começo do Fim do Mundo] collects tracks from this all-female post-punk-funk band's two lps: Cadê As Armas and Trashland. The subtitle Brasilian Post-Punk 1982-88 caught my eye as this is exactly the sort of release I'm interested in: pop and rock music created outside of the US/UK orbit, where local bands mutate the musical template to create something new and unusual. Do they succeed in this? Sorta.

As Mercenárias perform post-punk in the (cliché alert) angular and skeletal manner of ESG, Gang of Four and the Au Pairs. They are easily as good as the better known outfits, very tight sounding with good songs. Worth buying? Yes, definitely, but not the revelation that some reviews might suggest. That being said, the cd will sit nicely along side other historical explorations of the São Paulo underground: Não Wave and The Sexual Life of the Savages.