Os Mutantes were (like most pop groups in the late ’60s) influenced by the Beatles and many other great groups from the first flowering of psychedelia. Except that they were doing their thing in the relative isolation of Brazil (heading into a military dictatorship at the time) so what came out of their creative endeavours was something entirely otherworldly. Listen to an Os Mutantes record today and it still sounds fresh, with a real smorgasboard of influences swimming around in its sonic soup. Unlike English and American groups of the time, they were neither pop nor rock, but combinations of both, with an experimental streak that was madcap rather than serious minded. In other words, anything went on an Os Mutantes record, and though this led to a few musical mishaps, they’re still a group well worth investigating.

Haih… is the first Os Mutantes album in over 30 years, as the cover proudly proclaims, and in fact, only one of the original members is still on deck. In fairness, however, Sergio Dias did lead the original group through a number of lineups throughout the ’70s, and he was eventually the only original member when they split up way back in the late ’70s. If ‘Haih…’ was just Dias and a bunch of young would-be Mutantes, this project may have been damned from the start, but Dias has collaborated with a couple of other legendary Tropicalia musicians in Tom Ze and Jorge Ben.

It’s not the best way to audition the group for the first time, but is, nevertheless, a worthy addition to the catalogue. While not as mad as the original group, these compositions are still delightfully off-centre and full of humour and indiosyncracy, and charming with it. GARY STEEL

Sound 3

Music 3.5