Gal Costa - Recanto Review

Gal Costa, one of the greatest and most exquisite Brazilian female singers of all time, has released what is arguably the most daring album of her four-decade career. Recanto was masterminded by life-long friend Caetano Veloso, who should be considered as much an author of this album as Costa. In fact, sonically and lyrically, Recanto clearly belongs with Veloso's recent infatuation with noise rock and electronica, begun on Cê (2006) and further pursued on Zii e Zie (2009). Of course, Veloso is one of those artists who has devoted his life to pulverizing creative boundaries, so even if he is pushing 60, another left turn was always in the cards....full text Amazing stuff – the most intriguing album we’ve heard from Gal Costa in decades – and one of the first in many years to get back to the more experimental side of her music! The set was co-produced by Caetano and Moreno Veloso (who also play on the session as well), and it’s really got Gal getting back to the creative styles of the Tropicalia years – yet also filtered through the more contemporary modes that Moreno’s been using in his 21st Century projects too! The blend is incredible – a reminder that Costa can still be pretty damn captivating when she wants to be – and that she’s still part of one of the most important musical communities on the planet. Kassin also does a lot of work on the record – and in a way, it almost sound most like some of his best creative projects in recent years – but graced with all the indescribable depth that Costa brings to her presentation of the lyrics. Titles include “Segunda”, “Recanto Escura”, “Cara Do Mundo”, “Autotune Autoerotico”, “Tudo Doi”, and “Neguinho”....full text This is a new form of robo-Brasil songcraft. It’s as if the late-70s David Bowie had decamped to Rio rather than Berlin, as swirls and curls of subtle tension infuse these stark statements. A helicopter oscillation is introduced towards the end of Neguinho, a song that’s the prime example of these colliding techniques. O Menino is dubby bossa, with its stalking guitar and snare drum detonations. Costa’s cool restraint is unsullied. Autotune Auterótico uses said device knowingly. Samba drums underpin Miami Maculelê, and the Auto-Tune rears up again, but is it ironically deployed this time? The closing Segunda has a folky forró feel, from the north-east of Brazil, with sawing strings and metallically scraping percussion. It provides a relatively traditional conclusion to this persistently probing song-sequence....full text