Zii & Zie

Caetano Veloso is a five time grammy award-winning composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. He's been referred to as one of the greatest songwriters of the century and is sometimes considered to be the bob dylan of Brazil. He's one of Brazil's heroes, thanks to his experiments with the tropicália movement in the late 60s, when he shook up the country's music scene by mixing bossa and other local styles with rock, and was considered so subversive that he was jailed by the military government. His experiments continue. This new album matches his thoughtful, delicate vocal work against sparse backing dominated by stark electric guitar lines provided by himself and pedro sa. The songs are intimate and surprising, with sudden bursts of electric guitar transforming the easy-going 'falso leblon', and handclaps and funk guitar lines matched against the laid-back vocals on 'a cor amarela'. Best of all, there's the half-spoken 'a base de guantánamo', which sounds like a classic and angry protest song even if you can't speak Portuguese.