Garotas Suecas / Escaldante Banda

American Dust

Sweaty, funky, exotic, committed. Garotas Suecas ("Swedish Girls," in Portuguese) hail from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and their hearty, full-throated stew combines the best elements of their country's homegrown Tropicalia with Anglo-American soul and freakbeat. The six members of the group met as teenagers at an open mic night and promptly formed a band, hijacking the home of an area poet for their rehearsals. They self-financed three EPs, toured Brazil, and outlandishly landed an MTV video music award. But what psychs the band more than anything is launching their Brazilian Invasion of the States. In the wake of their second smash appearance at SXSW in Austin and subsequent two-week US tour, Garotas Suecas' debut full-length, Escaldante Banda, arrives just in time for a month-long encore tour in September. The band looks forward to blazing a smoldering trail across the country. Escaldante Banda offers a brew of Otis Redding soul grooves and Os Mutantes craziness. The Garotas' most accomplished recording to date and the ideal Stateside introduction to Brazil's best-kept secret, the record bursts with fuzz guitars, polyrhythms, scorching female backing vocals, big horn sections, and heavy psychedelia. Its grooves are thick, and it comes to make America shake. The perfect late-summer dance record.  "Garotas Suecas shouldn't merely be listened to or witnessed; they should be absorbed." --Carrie Brownstein, Sleater-Kinney "Garotas Suecas has honed a slice of garage-rock-influenced soul music of which the Daptone folks should be jealous." --New York Times "Thunderous organ, drums in overdrive and group vocals to make any fan of harmony proud." --Aquarium Drunkard

• SHARE

  •  Twitter
  •  Stumbleupon
  •  Digg
  •  del.icio.us
  •  Facebook
  •  Mixx