Lucy Fitzgerald 
Asfixia Social has been grinding for almost two decades, and their fourth studio album, “Mess Bigger,” sounds like a band that has finally said everything they’ve been building toward. The São Paulo crew mixes punk, ska, hardcore, funk, ragga and metal into one sound, and this eight track record cranks that formula louder than anything they’ve done before. The album kicks off with “Revolutionary Rapport”, built around the idea of a pirate radio signal calling out anyone tired of watching the world fall apart. DJ Erick Jay’s scratches and Carlos PXT’s synths give it an extra jolt right out of the gate, and Kaneda’s vocals, trumpet, and trombone hold the whole thing together while everyone else piles on around him.
The title track “Mess Bigger” is the heart of the record, with a Rage Against the Machine kind of fury riding on top of a bassline that’s straight up funky. “Capoeira-Karatê” throws funk carioca into the hardcore blender, and it just clicks. “Walls Won’t Make You Safe” goes after borders and fear with that nervous ska energy that this band does so well. “Baião de Dois” might be the boldest track here, folding baião and soul into something heavy and almost ceremonial about hunger and injustice, and it flat out works. Closer “Trouble Times” throws rap, punk, metal, hardcore, and ska into one last pile-up before the record ends. Pedro Garcia’s production keeps things loose and raw without losing punch, and extra touches from Henrique Kehde and Dendê Macedo add color throughout. Thiko Garcia’s guitar still carries that metal backbone under the reggae and ska bounce, and Jahya’s saxophone sounds like it’s been part of this band forever.
I’ll be straight with you: this is the most locked-in record Asfixia Social has released, the kind of album you want to sit with front to back instead of skipping through. I walked away from this one more fired up about Brazilian crossover punk than I’ve been in a long time. Go follow Asfixia Social wherever you hang out online, throw “Mess Bigger” on and let the whole thing play, and get a few of these tracks into your regular rotation because this band has spent years earning stages across Brazil and Europe, and this record shows exactly why. Catch them live, too, if you ever get the chance, since a recording only gives you half the picture with a band like this.
Listening to songs so you don’t have to! Just kidding :D, you totally should. Music blogger by day, nurse by night
