Brazil’s top exports include coffee, petroleum, iron ore, frozen bovine meat and now Karen Dió. Snapped up by Hopeless Records for her 2024 EP ‘My World’ EP, she now has to prove success wasn’t a fluke. The pressure is on. You’ve probably seen the slogan, with its three little diagrams, maybe on a t-shirt – ‘This is a chord. Here is another. This is a third. Now form a band’. It encapsules the punk ethos, perfectly. Simple music, held together with attitude. That’s Karen Dió’s modus operandi on her new EP ‘Fugaz’.
Maybe you’ve heard of the uptick in sales of dumb phones and vinyl, maybe there’s a thirst for bygone technology, a desire for honest connection. Dió is a punk, her music fits that bill. It’s built around guitar chord riffs and rapid drum beats with her yelling over the top. It’s a massive contrast to more mainstream artists with their auto-tune and overproduced digital soundscapes. This EP is also a massive contrast to her previous work. She’s never lacked confidence (it’s the sole merit of her bratty breakout hit ‘Sick Ride’) but here the attitude is shaped into something more than a soundbite. Hence, the songs are so much stronger. As ‘Euphoria’ opens with a raw strummed guitar she captures the thrill by singing; ‘I can feel something…’
All six tracks crackle with enthusiasm, whether it’s the stomp of ‘Free Yourself’ or the hi-hat being rattled on ‘Rat Race’, the drums give the music a wicked sense of momentum. Notably on ‘Choke’ the repeating guitar riff works as a flywheel, giving Dió freedom to snap and bark while the song drives itself. The simplicity also means details like squeals of feedback, the distorted bass that opens ‘Rat Race’ or the simple picked lead line on ‘Crawling’ feel intoxicating.
‘Fugaz’ means ‘fleeting’ in Portuguese. That’s a great way to describe Dió’s work. The songs here clock in at around two and a half minutes each, enough to make their point without wearing themselves out. By comparison, the six tracks of ‘My World’ burned past in twelve minutes, yet these feel shorter. They’re stronger ideas and better hooks, fleshed out and moving with intention. The promotional images features her pictured with The Hives’ Pelle Almqvist, a strong comparison.
Last year’s enthusiastic standalone single ‘Bexy’ hinged on cries of ‘Hey!’, and that’s the default position here; the choruses are easy to sing along to. Songs like ‘Euphoria’ or ‘Free Yourself’ are built around surprisingly catchy ‘ahh’ sounds, but it’s not all one note. The verses make the most of her rapid-fire delivery and low-sultry voice, and the way her voice distorts on ‘Crawling’ or ‘Fugaz’ is a great display of passion.
On the EP’s cover, Dió is pictured wearing a distinctive orange jacket while performing a high-kick. There’s a certain irony to this, given punk’s DIY ethos, but it’s a brilliant piece of graphic identity, capturing the music’s personality.
Karen Dió thrives under pressure. ‘Fugaz’ is filled with style, attitude and great songs.
IAN KENWORTHY