2022 was the year that one of the country’s friendliest festivals, Balaclava Fest, resumed after the pandemic-forced hiatus. Again there was an effort to bring in names that had never played in the country and had long been in demand by Brazilian alternative rock fans, the two main attractions of the evening: Alvvays and Fleet Foxes , and also a good less known international group. but thought-provoking, the Crumb.

To complete the program, a sample of what is being done by artists from the new Brazilian generation, with Ombu, Bruno Berle, Jennifer Souza and Pluma, who performed on a stage set up in the lobby of the Tokio Marine Hall, in São Paulo .

With a full house, the two biggest attractions did not disappoint. The Alvvays, by the way, arrived here just when their third album, “Blue Rev”, featured prominently on several trade press Best of the Year charts. And it is on this material that the quintet has focused its attention. 10, of the eighteen songs shown by them are from the new work, including the beautiful “Belinda Says”, voted great song of 2022 by the influential site Pitchfork.

Their sound has no big secret: it’s a very melodic indie rock, with guitars distorted in the right measure, and fairly homogeneous pieces. That great sound for dancing alone, preferably looking at your shoes, as befits a band that certainly listened to the big names in 90s shoegaze.

Singer Molly Rankin is quite cute, another adjective that fits the Canadian sound, and is visibly happy to perform for an audience that truly loves them.

Shortly after, it was Fleet Foxes’ turn to catch up on the long wait for their late night show here. Influenced by the best of late 60s/early 70s American music, they pack a punch. Live, the band is a septet, with bass, guitar, drums, sax, trombone and keyboards, plus the vocals and guitar of frontman Robyn Pecknold, affectionately called “Robinho” by the audience and also clearly happy to be there.

Unlike the Alvvays, who sound very close to what you hear on the records, the FF breathe new life into their songs on stage, all of which are beautifully crafted and intricate – especially the vocal harmonies, creative use of drums and horn entries.

The setlist contained songs from all works, with greater prominence for “Shore”, the most recent, and another cover for “phoenix“, the song they recorded with indie supergroup Big Red Machine.

In a concert that knew how to balance intensity and lightness, it is difficult to fish out the individual highlights, but, of course, the hits “White Winter Hymnal” and “Mykonos” went deeper into the audience. The finale, with Tim Bernardes, perhaps the band’s biggest fan in Brazil, sharing the mic on “Going-To-The-Sun Road”, and the farewell with “Helplessness Blues” closed what was, easily , one of the great shows seen in Brazil this year. That in 2024, Balaclava (both the label and the festival) will continue to surprise.

(Leandro Saueia)