Andre Gimaranz – ‘State of Rage and Fear’
Brazilian guitarist, singer and songwriter Andre Gimaranz – an IMEA Awards 2015 and 2016 nominee in the categories ‘Song of the year’ and ‘Artist of the year’ has dropped the single ‘State of Rage and Fear’. This is the first track off the upcoming album ‘Supermoon’, in pre-order on iTunes with worldwide release set for July 1st 2017. After 15 years as a session musician, Andre’s first solo album, ‘Handmade’, was released in 2015 gaining instant attention from the industry and fans alike, resulting in Gimaranz being considered one of the best new live acts in Brazil. It’s hard to make American rock with the epic sweep of Springsteen or Tom Petty and keep it free of bombast. Andre Gimaranz manages it easily on ‘State of Rage and Fear’. Between the clanging power chords and the big choruses, Gimaranz, leaves ample space for intimacy. And he doesn’t bellow; he sings the tune.
Such restraint is appropriate on the track’s vignettes of man’s lost reason. The song seethes with anger and muted passion, while a reverberating guitar coils around the lyrics about the economics of war and fighting.
His heart-on-sleeve lyrics are often unambiguous: “We can’t take another war,” he sings, as a guitar chord pans grittily across the stereo. Andre Gimaranz is not breaking new ground with ‘State of Rage and Fear’, but he is consolidating the tried and tested at the peak of his powers.
This track is an exercise in perfecting what a tortured conscious song can and should be, and although the lyrical theme is nothing new, the execution and arrangement of the song is nearly perfect. Gimaranz lets his alternative-rock influences loose before pulling you into the signature angst-driven Americana rock that defines much of his work. He utilizes the broad musical vocabulary he has absorbed from many legendary influences – and a stunning 4 octave voice – without sounding derivative of anything other than his own work.
The best way to describe Andre Gimaranz’ music is something between 80s power ballads and modern indie with powerful rock and Americana undertones. All accompanied with some well-written emotional lyrics.
In fact Gimaranz’ ability to capture emotional experiences through poetic lyrics and turn them into moving musical pieces is clear. Running through his concise catalog its easy to see that Andre Gimaranz is hard to pin down. Cutting his teeth on classic rock he’s been confounding and delighting fans and critics based on both his brilliant, multifaceted songwriting and his inability to sit still with any one style.
These differences are evident if you take into consideration tracks like the confrontational ‘State of Rage and Fear’ and the introspective ‘Falling Apart’. In a modern music scenario Andre Gimaranz is a whole lot better than what you’d even expect from his contemporaries and peers. He manages to pull truly inspired music out of guitar-based compositions in an era of dominating electronic soundscapes. That’s hardly something to take lightly!
OFFICIAL LINKS: WEBSITE – REVERBNATION – ITUNES – YOUTUBE – FACEBOOK
