REVIEWSGarotas Suecas, ‘Escaldante Banda’

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Label: American Dust

If Os Mutantes had listened to less Beatles and more Seeds and Otis Redding, then they might've sounded something like Garotas Suecas (Portuguese for "Swedish girls"). Escaldante Banda means "hot band," and the Sao Paolo sextet crank up the retro-'60s thermostat with gracefulness and abandon. Tropicália's famous cultural cannibalism is in full effect, too: "Não Se Perca Por Aí" accompanies Portuguese lines such as "I thought I recognized you in a Lou Reed song" with sha-la-la harmonies, while "Alma" suggests a low rider gliding by on a blithe Bahia breeze.

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