Bruno Marinho fronts the dreamy electro-pop and rock crossover project Supervised, an act with a thoughtful focus on soaring instrumentals and quietly contemplative storylines.
The brand new album Worlds Unseen marks a fine introduction and testament to the heartfelt and melodic stylings of the sound, and proceeds to carve out a familiar but uniquely intriguing creative lane.
We begin with the extensive post-six-minute track Spaceship, a shoegaze to indie rock arrangement, with canned electro vocals, and the looping sentiment and tune of ‘Please don’t go’ resounding amidst an otherwise unorthodox lyrical journey.
It’s a humble and likable opening chapter, but it’s quickly redirected by the engaging guitar riff and fragmented historical vocals that drive us into the drama and dreamy enchantment of Misunderstood. Here the soundscape gathers intoxicating momentum, a simple looping arrangement backed by hard-hitting live drums – the latter a natural trait of all things Bruno Marinho, given his affinity for both guitar and drums, and his previous experience as drummer for the Rio de Janeiro band Antenas de Vinil. This track is an instant highlight for its intricate balancing of an infectious groove, subtle intensity, conceptual intrigue, and hypnotic repetition.
Music to Bruno Marinho has forever been a therapeutic form of escapism. The focus and emotional resetting of the creative process is often what makes for the most engaging and interesting music, and that’s absolutely the case with the freedom and allure of Worlds Unseen.
We continue through the shoegaze softness and intermittent weight of Once Upon A Time, a song that seeks to remind us of the small beauties found in life’s lesser appreciated details. Then for Something Else, we dive straight into the depths of unseen energy and life beyond our perceived reality. Here the music reflects the change in concept, a beautiful guitar riff and lashings of space underlining a new corner of thought provoking vocal fragments and soothing warmth. The guitar playing is modest but soulful, and gorgeously evocative.
“We’re not alone anymore.”
For Monsters things get a little electro-funky as we confront inner demons in a gentle and relatable way, before the easy appreciation and inspiring traits of Starling redirect us once again, for a moment of quiet reflection.
Ok, Chaos brings the rolling bass and drum combo to reignite a passionate degree of intensity, a welcomed moment of originality to recapture any wandering minds. Then we calm down once more for The Bridge, the retro electronic vocal and reverb-kissed guitars presenting a familiar arena of sound, but a fresh groove and a strong switch for the brightness of the chorus. This one is again humble yet enjoyable and quite melodically and structurally memorable amidst the collection.
Wrapping things up is an intimate, acoustic search for serenity and peace. Solace captures a moment reflective and emotional, a solo-instrumental performance with a touch of lo-fi production, and the live movement of fingers on the guitar helping really take you to a small and secure space of contemplation and stillness. A wonderfully gentle, musically impressive closing track, which, in my view, concludes a unique and fearlessly personal but accessible creative album.
Download Worlds Unseen via Bandcamp or visit SupervisedMusic.com.
