SEJA VOCÊ MESMO, MAS NÃO SEJA SEMPRE O MESMO

Gabriel o Pensador’s social indignation is not news (after all, this is the guy who claimed that he was "glad because I’ve killed the President"). The new data on his fifth record is the inclusion of rock. On Seja Você Mesmo Mas Não Seja Sempre o Mesmo, the thinking man does not slip away from the subject, but is more attentive to the music. Lots of guitars – courtesy of Liminha and of the underrated guitar hero Gustavo Corsi – bring large doses of rage to tracks like Se Liga Aí, Pega Ladrão! and Até Quando?. The latter even features bits of samba, mixed in with the rap and rock - which he used to do early in his career. É Pra Rir Ou Pra Chorar?, Sem Parar and Mário feature the old synth bass riffs, subtle scratches and remarkable choruses.

But Gabriel wants us to focus on the lyrics, right? And he spits it all over an assortment of problems. Politicians (Pega Ladrão), drug addicts (Tem Alguém Aí?), outsiders (Se Liga Aí) and so on. As the whole, the album gives Gabriel’s fans everything that they expect.

(Marco Antonio Barbosa)