Os Mutantes cover

Os Mutantes

Released

The trio of brothers Arnaldo Baptista and Sérgio Dias with singer Rita Lee infused Tropicália with wide-eyed exuberance and the reckless abandon of a 5-year-old in a bouncy castle. Taking a name that translates as “the Mutants,” they had the chops to match that youthful energy, careening between tough garage stompers and acid-tinged balladry with glee. Opener “Panis et Circenses” definitely offers the most madcap statement of a band. A blow-by-blow is reductive but also instructive: Triumphant horn fanfare, then dreamy vocal pop, veering into a psychedelic fuzz bomb that suddenly melts like film stuck in a projector. The song speeds back up like a go cart with the brakes cut before ending in a chaotic din of silverware, musique concrete noise, and Strauss’ “The Blue Danube Waltz.” Imagine Un Chien Andalou as garage rock and you’re getting close, all crammed into 3 dizzying minutes. Such audacious joy and sonic U-turns abound on their classic debut.

Andy Beta

Suggestions
Begin cover

Begin

The Millennium
Locust Abortion Technician cover

Locust Abortion Technician

Butthole Surfers
Mad River cover

Mad River

Mad River
Terror Twilight cover

Terror Twilight

Pavement
Bloco do Eu Sozinho cover

Bloco do Eu Sozinho

Los Hermanos
H. P. Lovecraft I cover

H. P. Lovecraft I

H.P. Lovecraft
Chico Buarque cover

Chico Buarque

Chico Buarque
Ogum, Xangô cover

Ogum, Xangô

Gilberto Gil, Jorge Ben
Music in a Doll’s House cover

Music in a Doll’s House

Family
Dance to the Music cover

Dance to the Music

Sly & the Family Stone
Are You Experienced? cover

Are You Experienced?

The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Livro cover

Livro

Caetano Veloso