Mark Matos and Os Beaches

Mark Matos (formerly of Campo Bravo) emerged broken, bitten and naked out of the rabbit hole, after long travels by foot and mind, and found his way back home to San Francisco. Adopted by new record label Porto Franco, he joins Ben Reisdorph, Joe Lewis and Joe Miller in forming Mark Matos and Os Beaches. In collaboration with other Bay Area musicians, they serve up a cocktail of Tropicalismo, à la Americana, in Words of the Knife. The steel pedal tropical twang of the Portuguese title track, "Palavras de Faca" and the Hammond B-3 vintage organ sound in the single-worthy "High Priest of the Mission" are simply infectious. Although every song is noteworthy, the ten-minute-long psych folk gem "Warrior and the Thief" is the sonic high point of the album. It transitions perfectly into the next track, the instrumental "Tras-Os-Montes." New subtleties of instrumentation and rhythmic composition come to the forefront with every listen of Words of the Knife. It just may be the album that brings Mark Matos the recognition he deserves and that makes Porto Franco the new label to watch.