Brazilian Legend Caetano Veloso is a patient man. Spending much of the past ten years crafting a trilogy of records that explore the outer reaches of the classic Tropicalia style, Veloso has completed the project with a solid winner that is worth the wait. Co-produced by Pedro Sa and Veloso's son, Moreno, Abracaco (which translates to "big hug") serves as a nice capper that shows him at his best, and there are few septuagenarians still making music as classy and progressive as Veloso and with as strong and familiar a voice.
There are familiar sounds in the tunes as well - the samba-flavored "O Imperio Da Lei" could have come from Veloso's revolutionary late 60s period - alongside forward-thinking post-rock songs that wouldn't sound out of place on a Dirty Projectors record. "Quero Ser Justo" is a pretty straight-forward singer/songwriter kind of track, while "Funk Melodico" is driven by percussive vocals, tinny guitar lines and abstract sheets of noise worthy of a Voyager mission. In short, the record may be a conclusion to a long-standing project, but it looks to the future, a future that Veloso will surely help shepherd in. For myself, I can't wait.
-Eric J. Lawrence
Note: Caetano Veloso will be performing, along with Andrew Bird and Devendra Banhart, at the Hollywood Bowl as part of KCRW's World Festival series, on Sunday, September 21.
Track List:
1. A Bossa Nova É Foda
2. Um Abraçaço
3. Estou Triste
4. O Império da Lei
5. Quero Ser Justo
6. Um Comunista
7. Funk Melódico
8. Vinco
9. Quando o Galo Cantou
10. Parabéns
11. Gayana
Photo by Fernando Young, courtesy of the artist