Black$ea Não Maya - "MacoBayou"

The petition to relocate Holy Week's calendar location - specific only to North America - begins here.

Fret not! The heavy lifting has already been done; precedent has been set. See May Day, which is of virtually no importance. Instead, the United States has designated Labor Day to honor the end of Summer. Armistice Day? Far from a recognizable 24-hour period; after all, American soldiers, both known and unknown, are celebrated on Veterans Day instead.

Sure, holidays and the celebrations they cause are largely a product of culture. So perhaps as a reflection of tits unique identity, the land of the fifty states and two-thousand lakes creates its own. Thanksgiving? Why yes: an autumnal Thursday dedicated to appreciation and humble reflection. A day followed most naturally by excessive consumerism sensibly called Black Friday, because the other days designated to be "Black" - specifically Monday and Tuesday - all had happy endings.

So why exclude the remaining five days of the week? It appears another deep-seeded American tradition conveniently unfolds as November comes to a close. Amateurs engage in North American variant of football,; typically American in an of itself. To drive the point home, however, these games are played under the guise of regional vitriol. Institutions of higher learning compete in trials of brawn. Hardly any state is spared! Alabama-Auburn...Wisconsin-Minnesota...Louisiana State and...

...well, the Bayou have not a natural rival. Instead, readers might shift their attention towards the new Black$ea Não Maya track. The group's first release in a month is titled "MacoBayou" and, luckily, appears to involve grass and bayou, just no tigers (appropriate, perhaps, because BNM competes with no one except themselves).

What follows does not deviate much from the recent spate of BNM releases: a batucada with a strictly percussive introduction. In contrast to the Firma do Txiga collaboration, though, "MacoBayou" is faster and more in the vein of "Ché Tropa." Alas, reality is not simple; as heard on the fermented funk flavor, which appears only in the song's head. So truth be told, "MacoBayou" is the culmination of the crew's 2014 effort. As BNM has done before, the street party is brought to the listener's speakers. The thick synth vanishes and the beat changes. Drums progress from quarter notes, to eighth notes, to sixteenth notes during the interlude until the tension breaks. Four separate vocal samples - all of which proves to be dynamic - appear between the whistle blows to carry the melody. Two more beats are heard. Big, analog drums and crafty digital are held together by tambourine and snare - similar to the hi-hat on :"Voçê é feia" - until the tour de force returns back to its origin.

Not unlike the holidays, no surprises occur. But as with the best celebration, when hearing "MacoBayou," the simple, searing sensation of stupendous sagacity protrudes the consciousness. BNM is very good at making music.

- John Noggle