Os Mutantes

A A A Comments By Peter S. Scholtes Wednesday, Sep 23 2009

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Somehow "Bat Macumba," from Os Mutantes' self-titled 1968 debut, remains as funny and surprising as ever: It sounds like Latin psychedelic kids' music gone haywire—an exuberantly Muppetational response to Brazil's military dictatorship. The first Os Mutantes album in three decades, Haih or Amortecedor, is amazingly of a piece with that funky loopiness of old, especially given the mostly new lineup: Founding guitarist Sérgio Dias Baptista crafted the striking new music in collaboration with early-'70s Mutantes drummer Ronaldo "Dinho" Leme and an otherwise freshly recruited band, co-writing many songs with tropicália legend Tom Zé. The results span bossa nova to acid rock without sounding much like anything besides the Mutantes, with the common thread of giddy harmonies and a streak of political satire even non-Portuguese-speakers can dig ("Baghdad Blues," "Samba Do Fidel"). With Minyeshu.
Sat., Sept. 26, 7 p.m., 2009

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