Puerta Negra
Costo Humano
self-released/Detriti
Buzz about Portland’s Puerta Negra had been building in backchannels for a few months before the release of their debut Costo Humano EP, and a release on Detriti certainly didn’t quell that. Across six tracks of syncopated EBM funk, the duo show off a charismatic and brazen style shaped by the last few years of North American body music (the fingerprints of Susan Subtract, who has production and mastering credits, should be visible to those in the know) but have enough craft and songwriting chops to keep things dynamic and swinging across twenty minutes. Slapped synth bass burps along through tracks like “Future Podrido”, offset by snappy high-end snares and given direction by pained and driven punk vocals. Though often dead simple in their construction, Puerta Negra’s tracks have punch and personality, and Costo Humano should open doors (black or otherwise) for them going forward.
Observer: Puerta Negra
