In February of this year we reviewed Orquestra Imperial's new album and now Rodrigo Amarante presents his solo debut 'Cavalo' ("horse"). No gafieira samba on this album, but quite intimate, at times bossa nova influenced, singer-songwriter pop with the necessary dose of saudade, with Amarante alternating between English, Portuguese and even French ('Mon Nom'). Uptempo tracks like the funky samba song 'Maná' and 'Hourglass', a song that style-wise is reminiscent of The Strokes, you may consider to be an exception in the track list.
Even more Brazilian exotica we get from São Paulo based band Metá Metá. Don't let the title of this album give you the wrong impression though, because with the metal genre 'MetaL MetaL' has nothing to do. Metá Metá describe their sound as afro-punk, but feel free to translate that as a mix of Brazilian afrobeat with afro-samba. Since all band members are followers of the Candomblé religion 'MetaL MetaL' opens with 'Exu' (a tribute to the eponymous deity or orisha who in Candomblé represents communication and is also called on as a guardian of cities and houses) and tracks like 'Oya' (Goddess of the wind) and 'Logun' (deity of wealth and prosperity) are of a similar nature. Afrobeat legend Tony Allen, who can be heard on 'São Paulo No Shaking' and 'Alakorô' describes Metá Metá as: "Rootsy and modern at the same time, Metá Metá are inventors for the new music scene in Brazil!" Highly recommended listening!