Da Souza - "Voltera"

Spain is already well-represented in many categories of breakout acts, but Da Souza’s youthful vigor has landed them a special place on our radar. The boys from Mallorca return with “Voltera,” an advance single from the forthcoming full-length Gran Salt Endavant. Picking up where last year’s Bossanova infinita EP left off, the song is an assured throwback of indie rock circa 2003 Ted Leo & The Pharmacists. This time around Da Souza avoid wall-to-wall jagged guitars and opt for a more evenly-paced delivery with room for cowbells and straightforward jamming. Clear signs of a maturing band and a promising sample that certainly makes the album a must listen.

Gran Salt Endavant will be released February 23 via Famèlic Records.

Da Souza - "Boca a boca"

Famèlic Records has kept our ears full thanks to their growing catalogue of stellar releases. Yet even amongst other acclaimed albums from fellow labelmates Germà Aire and Univers, Da Souza still feels like a revelation. On last year’s grossly underrated (outside of Catalunya anyway) debut Flors i violència, the Barcelona group skipped nostalgia in favor of a spirited mash-up of Japandroids and Les Savy Fav topped off with slight touches of emo (Dads, American Football) to great results. "Boca a boca," latest single from a just-released split EP with Regalim titled Bossanova infinita, signals an impressive growth for the band. As an organ-led intro gives way to their trademark sunny and uninhibited hooks, there’s glimpses of a newfound confidence, which help make this meeting of precious and punk especially memorable. As writer Glòria Guso put it a year ago, “that is what they do, and they do it well.”

Video: Da Souza - "Sense dir res"

From their debut album Flors i Violència (Famèlic Records), Da Souza present this totally hilarious video for “Sense dir res,” one of the new songs in an album that also includes the four tracks of their very first cassette EP. Native to Mallorca but based in Barcelona, Da Souza sound like California. They scream and shout, they contain the songs and then let them explode. Even if the lyrics may seem a little bit cryptic, they're always very playful and frisky as we see in this video helmed by Coopèrnic, a catalan video cooperative that has already worked with Esperit!, Betunizer, Ocellot and many other bands of the underground catalan musical scene. With two members of Beach Beach (seen performing as the band in the back, along with Kana Kapila’s drummer), Da Souza were one of the great surprises from last year and they are currently playing in almost every festival around Catalunya. Their album sounds very fresh and reminds us of American bands like No Age or Japandroids, but also of local beloved acts like L’Hereu Escampa or even Cuello. Soft guitar melodies, scratchy voices and energetic drums with a little epic taste –that is what they do, and they do it well.