2025 Year End List - #9
LOOP:GLAMOUR - loopcinema
Main Genres: Indietronica, Psychedelic Pop, Disco
A decent sampling of: Nu-Disco, Glitch Pop, Progressive Pop, Funk Brasiliero, Disco Rap, Sampledelia, Boogie
Brazilian singer/producer Sabrina Garcia a.k.a. loopcinema is kind of an enigma. I had never heard of her until this year, and she doesn't have a lot of information about herself out there on the internet, despite having a very online aesthetic.
She's apparently only 21 years old which, excuse me but what the fuck? I still can't believe I'm old enough now that there's people seven years my junior making goddamn fantastic music like they were seasoned veterans of the medium.
Anyhow, I'm not gonna lie - I just discovered this record while I was browsing for music similar to Magdalena Bay. It's kind of an easy comparison to make, which others have done, but in no way do I mean it reductively. If anything, beyond her vocal register, loopcinema reminds me of Magdalena Bay because of how unique and completely bonkers her sound is as an indie-electronic-pop artist.
Her latest offering LOOP:GLAMOUR is kind of disorienting, and perhaps even headache inducing if you aren't in the right place for it. And I don't really mean that as a negative; on the contrary, this is a great example of pop music being the most it can be, listener's sensibilities be damned. Loopcinema has filled this beast to the brim with funky grooves, eclectic samples, tempo changes and beat switchups, and a whole fucking lot of sugar. This is indietronic disco on every kind of stimulant you could possibly think of, and then some.
Garcia possesses some real manic creativity, and is aided by a cast of Brazilian guest rappers and other oddball featured artists that all help to really tie the whole experience together into one great big over-stimulating, glowing neon, acid rainbow-coloured package.
The record swallows you up in a vortex of mayhem almost immediately with "CINEMA", which does a damn fine job establishing the overall tone of the record: non-stop energy. Just look at the cover art and you'll get a pretty good idea of what this record has in store from the get-go.
"DISCO: Lada" seamlessly blends a bossa nova sample with disco and hip hop into some really avant-garde party music. It would fit perfectly on the Katamari Damacy soundtrack (not least because Shibuya-kei owes a lot of influence to Brazilian genres like samba and bossa nova). This track just keeps changing gears while somehow never losing any of its momentum. Spot on execution of hyperactive production choices that only ever adds and never subtracts from the total song experience.
But the biggest highlight has got to be "LOUCAS-NO-BEAT", a song straight out of the wackiest 90s cartoon that never happened because it was 30 years ahead of its time. I am vaguely familiar with funk brasiliero music, but none of what I've heard sounds anything quite like it. The slap bass groove and the little intermission with the jazzy glokenspiel are probably my favourite production choices here, but I could probably list another dozen brilliant ideas in this track. I wish I could snort this song.
"MERCÚRIO" has a lot of glitzy glam in that old school disco sensibility, neon city lights and all, except maybe the city is also being destroyed by some giant laser-firing kaiju, but then also no one really cares and is just kinda vibing anyway? Idk I think I screwed up this description, my brain is just too damn overstimulated from the last 11 tracks.
Yeah, about the headache thing I said earlier - one or two of these tracks do kind of overstay their welcome, and the album definitely is unrelenting in the way that it flows. I guess there's usually gotta be a crash after a sugar rush, after all.
But overall, this is a stroke of musical genius, if indicative of a sound that has yet to be fully harnessed. I imagine that loopcinema's particular brand of musical witchcraft will age like a fine wine with time. In the meantime, LOOP:GLAMOUR is still a really fucking cool record and I implore all my fellow music nerds and ADHDers alike to check it out.
8/10
Highlights: "LOUCAS-NO-BEAT (feat. Julio Maravilha)", "DISCO: Lada (feat. chard la plaga)", "CINEMA", "MERCÚRIO", "LO44", "Complexo De Socialite" (feat. Suzy #SORTUDO)
FOR FANS OF:
Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay
I Love You Jennifer B by Jockstrap
Halcali Bacon by Halcali
How I'm Feeling Now by Charli XCX