Bless globalization. On Portastatic's delicious new EP, Superchunk's Mac McCaughan takes cues from Brazil's tropicalia new wave of the late '60s, who at the time were taking cues from the acid and pop movements of America and England. And now, thirty years later, college kids can interpret the lyrics with help of online translation engines as they sit in an Internet café munching on cashew satay sticks. Portastatic's homage to the fuzzed-out Brazilian pop of the peace era borrows heavily from the trippy sounds of Os Mutantes in particular. McCaughan flecks Gilberto Gil's "Lamento Sertanejo" with scratchy guitar leads mimicking the Mutantes' "A Minha Menina," originally a Jorge Ben number. It's this mix of tribute and bastardization that gives the genre playful flavor and soul, and McCaughan sounds well studied and infatuated.
Caetano Veloso's "Baby," another song covered by the Mutantes on their debut, simply stands as one of the greatest songs ever by one of the greatest songwriters ever. Impossible to ruin, "Baby" even receives one of its greatest versions here. Plunking double bass bops the tune along. Soft, cherubic keyboard subtly melt over the chorus. Slow trombone and wah-juiced guitar inflect a dreamy, gooey mood. It's reassuring to know that the modest lyrics of "Baby, baby, I love you" still sound so knee-weakening. "I Fell in Love One Day," an English tune from Mutante Arnaldo Baptista's 1982 solo album, extends the boat-on-a-river hallucinogenic motif. A creepy speed-altered, double-tracked vocal lurks beneath the surface as lethargic static- and reverb-laden snares splash along. On another Caetano Veloso cover, "Não Identificado," Mac leaves the tale of admirer and wishes to professes his unrequited love for flying saucers, and in "Anticomputador," odes in the native Portugese, as with the majority of the EP.
Joyce's "Clareana" closes the too-short foray in Bahian romance with programmed samba rhythms and more horn. Mac's trademark boyish soprano grants these tunes an ideal naivety and androgynous passion. Certainly some of the native shuffle and boogie is missing, as to be expected from a Chapel Hill fellow, but De Mel, De Melão remains a freshing and successful love-affair with some of the greatest music of the 20th Century. Time will tell if this will rub off on Superchunk.
