Customer Reviews

Prize

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Arto's pop-self comes as a surprise to those who witnessed his no-wave beginnings or even his later stuff in the earliest Golden Palomino's projects. The closest comparison here might be Caetano Veloso (who has repeatedly worked with Arto, most notably on '89's Estrangeiro ), but Arto's a much more limited vocalist, he uses his wispy-soulful song/talk really beautifully. Intoning, insinuating, suggesting, erotic or just dreamy-descriptive, his voice is the perfect instrument for these songs. Arto's craft is a subtle, shifting mix of Brazilian avant-pop, trip-hop, funk, hallucinatory folk-jazz, and soul balladry, all put together around a feeling of remarkable ease, as seductive as this is, it feels like the goal has already been reached, repeatedly, even exhaustively. Post-coital sex pop in a moody sci-fi rhythmic cultural mutation mode. His signing to Ani Difranco's label has me dreaming of a collaboration between the two of them, maybe an album of erotic duets, or just some remixing. Anyway Arto's pop work has been consistently excellent since his 80's work in the Ambitious Lovers.Also highly recommended are; O Corpo Sutil/The Subtle Body (`96), Mundo Civilizado (`97), Noon Chill (`98) all on Bar/None.

Brazilian-born, New York-based bossa nova pioneer Arto Lindsay is a marvel. This is his fourth full album of amazing "novo bossa nova" updates of the classic sound created in the late '50s by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto -- Lindsay adds a New Yorker's sense of irony, dread and sexuality to the mix, as well as heavy doses of funk, soul and electronica, bubbling under the surface. This disc has some mildly jagged touches, like the dreamy/noisy guitar fill on "Ex-Preguica", which sounds like something straight off a Roy Montgomery album. I still have no idea what his lyrics are about -- I'm always too lulled by the music, and too lazy to read the lyric sheet -- but it really doesn't matter. The music is delicious. For me, the only sour note on here was on the art-rap on "Pode Ficar," which wasn't icky, just a bit boring. Otherwise, this album is ace bunny killer -- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

i've been a big fan of arto lindsay for a while, mainly familiar with his work in DNA and the fabulous Arto Lindsay Trio record, "Aggregates 1-26." (i guess i'm the hopeless romantic sonic youth/glenn branca fan a previous reviewer mentioned.) i had been wary of his more recent work however, surmising from the reviews i had read and the odd song i heard on the radio that he had moved away from the noise-skronk guitar of his younger days that appealed to me so much. however, i saw this in a store when it came out last year, and on a whim, i picked it up. from the first listen i was completely amazed...

this album is rooted in two worlds, the brazilian tropicalia music of the '60s (and Arto's youth) and the New York underground of the past two decades. the music is a wonderful synthesis of these influences; it is passionate and sensual, but with a subtly powerful backbone that is incredibly affecting. in many places the music almost sounds like electronica, except that it's played by real musicians with real instruments, and not by a computer, which lends it a wholly organic feel. the mostly supple mood is only strengthened in the moments when the noisey undercurrent threatens to break through, most notably in "the prize" and "prefeelings." while i've always been fascinated by arto's guitar playing, which is wholly otherworldly, but fleetingly glimpsed on this album, i would be remiss if i didn't also mention his equally superior talents as a singer, lyricist and songwriter. the vocals complement the music perfectly, and the abstract poeticism of the lyrics manage to simultaneously sound intelligently self-concious and emotionally arresting. every track on this album is a stunning. as an added bonus, the last song, the beautiful "e ai esueco," features the talents of members of blonde redhead, firmly cementing this albums place in my heart as not only one of the top ten albums of '99, but all time as well.

If you can take your beautiful minimalist sambas and bossa novas spiked with jagged bursts of howling noise, grab it. It's a lovely, haunting record, and this time around he's added the earsplitting noise guitar he started with 20 years ago. A risky move, but when it works, it _works_. The downside is that a few songs, while good in their own right, are too aggressive to be pretty. The last three records worked as a geek-intellectual Barry White or Al Green. This one gets rougher.

Those just starting out are advised to begin with the earlier three records, each one a bit edgier than the one before it. Unless you're a hopelessly romantic Sonic Youth or Glenn Branca fan, in which case this might be the record you've waited for all your life.

Generally agreeing with the other reviews posted, I'll add that this is just a totally cool disc - eye-catching packaging, and a beautiful, subtle vibe. At times it grabs you by the throat, but usually you feel like you're floating on top of the melodies. This sensation is enhanced greatly by the fluidity of the basslines and the overall spaciousness of the music.

I enjoyed this unique musical fusion immensely and hope you do too - DJAdrian

Lindsay has crafted an immaculate work that pays repeated plays. There's a lot going on here, and the album grows richer the more you play it. Recommended.

This is the first Arto Lindsay album I have reviewed, though I am far from being a newcomer to his music or even sound. I was first introduced to his music almost 14 years ago on the sountrack to the movie Next Stop Wonderland, a small independent film featuring Hope Davis and Richard Seymour Hoffman that took place in Boston. The soundtrack was largely done by Lindsay along with Claudio Regazzi, Bebel Gilberto and friend Vinicius Cantuaria. It was a fantastic soundtrack actually that did wonders to introduce people to Bebel Gilberto (Joao Gilberto/Miucha's daughter) as it had a mixture of score, original bossa nova songs and tastefully done remakes to those songs including a medly of "One Note Samba" and "Girl from Ipanema". The next year I caught Lindsay on a compilation titled "Brasil 2Mil", an album released by Ziriguiboom/Crammed in 1999 that was a springboard for a lot of the labels artists. Focusing on young new Brazilian artists, interpretations and some electronic tastes his "Ridiculously Deep" fit in perfectly with Zuco 103's "Outro Lado", Suba's "Voce Gosta", Arling & Cameron's take on Bebel Gilberto's "Sem Contencao", Smoke City's "Numbers" and Vinicius Cantuaria's "Sem Pisar no Chao". You can really understand how small certain musical communities are & how some of these artists work with one another.

With those two albums, and a third actually titled 'Brazilian Melt', I had a very good idea of what to expect. And this album hardly disappoints. IN fact the first song is absolutely perfect. "Ondina", sung in English, is simply beautiful to me. The guitar play is wonderful, effects add a nice layer of touch and the saxaphone adds a kind of foreboding in the music. I really enjoyed the song. Likewise I enjoyed "Pode Ficar", which I had herad on Brazilian Melt. Nice and dark, I love the intro to the song. Other songs that I enjoyed were "Modos" and "Resemblances". Both follow the string of slower paced tracks. But the highlight to the album to me was actually one that was slightly more upbeat, "O Nome Dela". Maybe it was because the song was so familiar to me, in fact it was the reason why I picked up the album. It is such a contrast to the overall sound of the album in that it feels downright uplifting after some of the more broding (and I say that in a very nice way) titles, that you almost want to smile and think of a vivid memory in the past. Each of the songs on the album were wonderfully produced and the approach overall was quite consistent though admittedly not all of the songs on the album grabbed me and the direction at times was a little too far off for even me.

I would recommend this album. Especially if you are a fan of his other works or the albums that I mentioned above. But maybe most importantly, if you enjoy Arto's work you really need to get your hands on Vinicius Cantuaria's albums from the mid-late 90's on to the mid 00's. The two are friends and worked on a number of projects together including Next Stop Wonderland and "Innocent Bossa in Mirror" by Jun Miyake. Their styles were so similar, yet so very different. The song "O Nome Dela" actually featured on Vinicius' "Live: Skirball" album as a type of tribute, which was greatly done. Again the two know each other very well, worked together and on occasion blur the lines in who's work is whom's. So check out Vinicius Cantuaria too, and Bebel Gilberto and Jun Miyake's albums as well!

For some reason, 'Mundo Civilizado' seems to be regarded as Lindsay's masterpiece, but I like this one a whole lot better, just because 'Mundo' has a lot of okay songs, while this one has a lot of really nice ones. I love the sly horns on 'Ondia,' and slithery percussion on 'Poco Fidar,' and the nice groove set up in 'Modos' that runs through the next four songs, including the memorable skank of 'Rememberences'. "Ex-Preguica" intriguingly combines a buzzy groove with one of the most beautiful melodies I've ever heard -- it doesn't seem like a good match, but live and learn. There's nothing that quite stands out from the crowd in this collection, which is just as well -- put it on, lean back, and float away...

You might think that the mix of post-punk and soft brazilian pop is for an aquired taste, but the rather alternative rhytmic universe is not what this album is about. The true unique quality here is the insanely beautiful and strangely simple melodies. One of my top ten favorite musical productions.