Brazilian Wonderband Os Mutantes this Wednesday

This Wednesday, a myth comes to life on the Beachland stage.  The storied but elusive Os Mutantes, the Brazilian equivalent of the Beatles, comes to Cleveland on a very rare tour in support of their latest album–one several decades in the making–Haih or Amortecedor, now out on Anti Records.

Much has been made of this group’s incomparable influence in their home country of Brazil, and of their beloved stature with such musical notables as David Byrne, Beck, and even Kurt Cobain.  Much has also been made of their 60s output, an indescrible mash-up of sounds ranging from Summer-of-Drugs garage-rock mixed with ethnic rhythms, confundingly melodic arrangements, and a buyant sense of humor.

Which means all the music nerds, writers, and other weirdos (we mean that in a good way) like Os Mutantes based on their estimable legacy.  But what are people saying now? And what does the band have to say in 2009?

Here’s a review of Os Mutantes’ recent gig in Los Angeles, a scintillating art rock dance party:

On a sweltering Friday night at the Echoplex, Sergio Dias led his band mates, Os Mutantes, on multiple musical excursions through rock & roll, samba, and bossa nova, with a bit of Kurt Weill thrown in for good measure. ….Playing to an audience that tilted towards the band’s younger fans (or so it appeared when they would stop dancing long enough to get a look), Dias and his fellow players wove disparate musical threads into seemingly real musical entities that were propelled against each other creating the wildest musical collisions that made absolutely perfect musical sense.

Read more about this remarkable performance HERE.  Boston.com gives their perspective on Mutantes and their new record.  Seattle-based Three Imaginary Girls gives us a preview of their Bumbershoot performance.

Some great live shots of Os Mutantes and a gushing live review from their Portland, OR appearance are at melophobe.com.  And we’ll take it back to Los Angeles, where we find out about Os Mutantes’ remarkable show at that city’s famed Amoeba superstore.

To top it all off, the Beachland Blog Staff is very pleased to offer you a few Os Mutantes tracks from their new release.  These songs offer beaty gusto a la Gogol Bordello or Cyro Baptiste’s Beat the Donkey (more Brazilians!); musical melting pot wizardry reminscent of Beck or Andrew Bird, and a sweetly crazed rock sound that brings to mind Jefferson Airplane or Love.  Neither of those bands truly sounds anything like Os Mutantes; the reverse also applies.  Check ’em out for yourselves:

Opening this very special show are JDub recording artists DeLeon and their special brand of Sephardic rock.  A custom DJ set by members of afrobeat orchestra, Mifune, opens this show.

Tickets? Inquiries? Directions? Click  HERE to buy tickets, visit  www.beachlandballroom.com or call one of our standby operators at 216.383.1124.

EAS