Os Mutantes [LP/CD] Os Mutantes Artist

The band's debut album, {|Os Mutantes|}, is far and away their best -- a wildly inventive trip that assimilates {|orchestral pop|}, whimsical {|psychedelia|}, {|musique concrete|}, found-sound environments -- and that's just the first song! Elsewhere... Read more

The band's debut album, {|Os Mutantes|}, is far and away their best -- a wildly inventive trip that assimilates {|orchestral pop|}, whimsical {|psychedelia|}, {|musique concrete|}, found-sound environments -- and that's just the first song! Elsewhere there are nods to Carnaval, albeit with distinct hippie sensibilities, incorporating fuzztone guitars and go-go basslines. Two tracks, {|O Relogio|} and {|Le Premier Bonheur du Jour,|} work through pastoral French {|pop|}, sounding closer to {|the Swingle Singers|} than {|Gilberto Gil|}. Though not all of the experimentation succeeds -- the languid Brazilian {|blues|} of {|Baby|} is rather cumbersome -- and {|pop/rock|} listeners may have a hard time finding the hooks, {|Os Mutantes|}' first album is an astonishing listen. It's far more experimental than any of the albums produced by the era's first-rate psychedelic bands of Britain or America. ~ John Bush Less