With a name borrowed from a Brazilian film movement, you’d expect Atlanta-based Cinema Novo to be something special. And you’re not wrong. They’re what happens when a band tries to make a movie – or when film-makers decided to start a band.
Blending sounds between prog punk, world rhythms, math rock and adding to this psychedelic ambience, Cinema Novo have created their own sound, which they bring to life through film. The final product is an audio-visual feast, merging the band’s wildly ranging influences into a single, common direction.
Cinema Novo’s latest project, ‘Seven Headed Lion’, is a musical film series, which connects modern social conflict with the ancient mythology of various cultures from around the world, and shows that there is nothing new under the sun. ‘Isonade’ is the group’s second release from ‘Seven Headed Lion’, and comes with a striking and somewhat jarring video, which offers up – in black and white – a dark look into the turbulent world of two female lovers, who are resident in a dive-y motel room. The affair tracks the lines between passion and pain, and goes from a romantic embrace into a full blown war. Dualistic themes are explored evocatively with the chiaroscuro of the neutral tones, accentuating the calm and the chaos in even the skin tones and lingerie.
The song is the real focus of this however: Matthew Klem on bass, Shawn Moeckly on drums, and guitars from Christopher Richardson lay the groundwork for Haseena Peera’s strong and sensual vocals.
Find out more about Cinema Novo online on their official website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Check out their sound on Soundcloud and Bandcamp.
