A few years back, it would have been hard to predict that a scuzz-punk duo like No Age would gain wide popularity outside of a niche fanbase, or that the band's all-ages homebase the Smell would come to be seen as one of the preeminent breeding grounds for underground rock. Even as the indie paradigm has shifted towards the noisier, it's still difficult to guess which (if any) of the acts in No Age's wake will go on to find similar success. Surely due for increased attention, though, are Smell torchbearers Mika Miko, a female five-piece specializing in a brash (but danceable) mixture of classic late-70s punk, hardcore thrash, and skronky no wave.
Known primarily for the dynamic energy of their stage show, Mika Miko have been operating in some form since the early part of the decade, touring shitloads and scraping together an armful of homemade cassettes and CD-Rs. They embody Smell ideology-- community building, inclusion, steadfast DIY-ness-- and though We Be Xuxa is their first medium-profile release, it's actually the group's 10th official recording. Their brand of industriousness and good-natured punk spirit are fine reasons to like a band (or at least root for them), but the other part of that equation, of course, is enjoying their tunes. And that depends on your outlook: the intentionally basic songs on the 23-minute We Be Xuxa lean heavily on aggression and energy.
For those who like their music brief and stupid-simple (and appreciate the various strains of the punk canon Mika Miko are drawing upon), We Be Xuxa can be plenty of fun. Its best tracks, such as shouty opener "Blues Not Speed", rumble past at a violent clip with just enough time for the band to do its damage and then peel out in the getaway car. The group has a healthy sense of balance, too, and usually knows when to cut its bitterness with sugar, like on the bouncy call-and-response of "I Got a Lot (New New New)". But not all of the record's remaining moments achieve such equilibrium, and since it operates in only two gears-- fast and faster-- there's a tendency for its lesser songs to bleed into one another and become indistinguishable.
Indeed, the similar-sounding "Wild Bore" and "Sex" might as well be one song, and the distinction between neighboring tracks "On the Rise" and "Beat the Rush" doesn't really exist. That's a problem on a record this short, and generally speaking, We Be Xuxa would benefit from more genre variety. Ironically, when the band does occasionally fiddle with other styles-- notably on the very convincing no-wave boogie of "Totion" and their cover of the Urinals' "Sex"-- they produce some of the record's most memorable material. Something tells me, though, that Mika Miko aren't really that interested in deeper genre explorations or crafting a grand concept piece. They're about turning kids onto punk rock at sweat-soaked backyard parties, and that's pretty cool too.
