In 1966, Os Mutantes emerged on the forefront of the Brazilian Tropicália movement, bringing a circus full of lovably iconoclastic tunes to the world. After breaking apart in 1978, the group reformed with a new lineup (read: a lineup featuring one original member) in 2006. Living off of the moniker's global fame with a drastically reshuffled team of tricksters, the new vehicle continues to bear some sonic similarity to the inceptive pioneers it claims to represent. Nonetheless their latest Kubrick-referencing war-is-hell album, Fool Metal Jack, feels immediately dated.
On Fool Metal Jack, Os Mutantes attempt to adapt to the 21st century music industry, but somewhat shoddy production values (and digital cover art for that matter) detract from the entire experience. With the exception of the exquisite "Eu Descobri," the band uncharacteristically rely on strained if not at times clever English lyrics. Although the effort is often competent, it is rarely sublime.
There are bright splashes of color and imagination throughout the work. The reggae coos of "Ganjaman" are derivative but delightful. The coughed vocals on the plodding, ugly title cut bring a creative touch to an otherwise off-putting song. But even happily accessible tracks like "To Make It Beautiful" and "Into Limbo" seem tired in comparison to earlier masterpieces. Though the final third of "Once Upon a Flight" comes close to rekindling the impossible, as a whole the record never flies near enough to the sun to even burn as a spectacular mess.
Fool Metal Jack is conceptually curious but mostly painful to listen to, if only because of what once was. It is not the joyous psychedelic romp the band's famed debut so delightfully encapsulated. Despite noble artistic aspirations, inevitably, the Mutantes have mutated into a lesser entity.
Grade: C+
The reggae coos of "Ganjaman" are derivative but delightful. The coughed vocals on the plodding, ugly title cut bring a creative touch to an otherwise off-putting song. But even happily accessible metal cutting tracks like "To Make It Beautiful" and "Into Limbo" seem tired in comparison to earlier masterpieces.