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For those of us with big record collections, it can be a challenge to dig deep into the stacks rather than just repeatedly playing the same records that are physically and/or mentally accessible. One strategy I’ve been using lately is using the “random item” function on Discogs to suggest things to listen to. I’ll hit that button a few times and make myself a stack of under-appreciated records to listen to over the next few days. Often they get one play before they get re-alphabetized, but sometimes this process gets me stuck on a record I’ve been neglecting. Such was the case with this debut LP from Brazil’s Cólera. I can’t remember the last time I listened to this record, but when I spun it last week, it blew me away. I’ve been playing it constantly since then.
São Paulo’s Cólera is one of the most well-known punk bands from Brazil, starting all the way back in 1979, their lineup coalescing around the brothers Redson (guitar and vocals) and Pierre (drums). They contributed tracks to the essential Brazilian punk compilations Grito Suburbano (1982), SUB (1983), and O Começo do Fim do Mundo (1983), but didn’t release their own record until this one, Tente Mudar o Amanhã, in 1985. While I’m sure this record’s release was a big event, Tente Mudar o Amanhã quickly got overshadowed by the band’s second album, Pela Paz Em Todo o Mundo, which came out a year later in 1986. Pela Paz Em Todo o Mundo not only became Cólera’s best-known album, but one of the best-selling Brazilian independent releases of all time. Cólera released a flood of material in the second half of the 80s, the band apparently remaining creatively vital; there are nearly forty excellent tracks just on those first two albums, and material continued to spill out generously in the years after. They were also the first Brazilian punk band to tour Europe in 1987.
Listening to Tente Mudar o Amanhã, it’s easy to understand why Cólera is so well regarded. As you might expect from a band that started in 1979, there’s a healthy dose of catchy 70s punk influence in Cólera’s sound, but they also seemed determined to match the frenetic energy of the emerging hardcore scene. They construct their songs tightly, with hooky instrumental parts and explosive dynamics, performing them precisely at near-manic tempos. Just this morning it occurred to me that Cólera reminds me a lot of D.O.A. Maybe it’s that both bands are three-pieces, but they both have this perfect interplay between the instruments and vocals. For both bands, the instrumental tracks sound like they would be explosive on their own, but the vocals come in at strategic points that always bump the energy level up a couple of notches. It’s rare to find a stand-alone vocalist with such a perfect sense of how their parts should fit in a song. For a perfect example, see Cólera’s “São Paulo,” perhaps my favorite song here with its brisk tempo, big riff, and mega catchy chorus.
I can’t remember exactly where I got this original copy of Tente Mudar o Amanhã, but I’ve had a couple of good Brazilian scores over the years. I remember in the early years of the store we got an email from someone from Brazil who wanted to buy some current releases from Sorry State and offered to trade us 80s Brazilian vinyl for them. I can’t remember why we didn’t nail down something more specific, but I remember sending him what he wanted and basically saying, “send me back something cool.” One record I remember he sent was an original copy of Sarcófago’s I.N.R.I., which I was totally unfamiliar with at the time. Then a few years ago I had another big Brazilian score when a guy emailed me to say he was a professor from Brazil who was doing research at the University of North Carolina, and he was hoping to subsidize his trip by bringing some rare vinyl from Brazil to the US. I told him Sorry State specialized in punk and metal, and he really came through for us with multiple original copies of the Sepultura / Oversplit split LP, another original I.N.R.I., and a bunch of other cool records. I picked the records up from his office at UNC, just across from a building where I used to teach when I was a grad student there. I remember he offered an original copy of the As Mercenárias LP, but I thought it was too expensive. I kinda regret that.
If you’re into tracking down original Brazilian vinyl, though, you’d best be prepared to loosen your standards on condition. Brazil is sort of like the opposite of Japan, where grading standards are strict and beater copies are few and far between. This copy of Tente Mudar o Amanhã is what I’d call “Brazilian VG+.” It looks pretty decent aside from where a previous owner has customized the band’s logo with a ballpoint pen (I’m not sure what they were going for there), but like nearly every record I’ve ever gotten from Brazil, it smells kind of musty, like it’s spent too much time in a very humid environment. Most of my other Brazilian records look like they’ve spent a chunk of their lives buried underground, been fought over by wild dogs, and otherwise used and abused. I kinda like that, though… the idea that a record has been through some real shit before it found its way into my hands.
So yeah, give it a listen. Tente Mudar o Amanhã is on all the streaming services and it’s been reissued on vinyl and CD numerous times, so it’s easy to hear and well worth your time.