Os Haxixins - Os Haxixins (2009)

Os Haxixins
Os Haxixins (2009)

If there's one age-old query that can be answered by listening to Os Haxixins' self-titled debut, it is this: what happens when a group of stoners get their hands on a vintage organ? Welp...here ya go! Add in some vintage amps, guitars and lo-fi recording equipment and you have yet another band that was formed forty years too late. They certainly aren't the first band to follow this trend but, considering my favorite album last year was from the Swedish psych band Dungen, this is one trend I personally don't mind bands following.

With a look as vintage as their sound, Os Haxixins made a name for themselves playing around São Paulo for four years before they got around to actually recording. Originally release as a vinyl-only album in Portugal in 2007, this CD reissue comes to us courtesy of Pittsburgh's Get Hip Records, complete with two bonus tracks (the instrumental "Raios" and "Please Forget", one of three English language tracks); but unfortunately absent of any clues as to how to actually pronounce the bands' name. Few things make me feel so incredibly gringo than trying to say it without struggling, but I've settled on either "os hazizins" or "that one Brazilian band I've been listening to". Both seem to get the point across.

Though there are certainly psych elements to Os Haxixins sound, the fuzzed out guitars, slightly muffled vocals, and catchy two-minute song structures place them more in garage rock territory. And as discussed, all of the songs, for better or for worse, are dominated by the organ. This isn't necessarily an automatic flaw as they actually use it quite well most of the time, adding a dimension to their sound that many similar bands lack. They can rock out with it, as they do on the opener "Onde Meditar (Imi-dà)" and on the excellent "Àcido Fincado", or they can do a more laid-back, spy music feel, as on "Depois Eu Volto (Gimme)". But their options, or perhaps just their ideas, are somewhat limited with the instrument, and throughout sixteen tracks of organ onslaught, it starts to sound a little redundant.

Overall, though, Os Haxixins is a pretty enjoyable listen that's true to the band's garage rock influences: fun, fast and loud, even if lacking a little depth.


Score: 7/10


"Depois Eu Volto (Gimme)"


"Àcido Fincado"