Alright, I'm back at the scene of the crime, hoping that the discussion will be a bit more peaceful: when I mentioned Hanrahan, I did so because, in terms of sound, with the necessary differences, it reminds me of the influences heard on Estrangeiro. It's no coincidence that Lindsay, before playing with the Ambitious Lovers, will actually play on Hanrahan's records. And it's an album of songs too, certainly not as experimental as an araca azul (which, however, in terms of sounds, has nothing to do with Hanrahan: I only mentioned it when the topic of "songs" came up, not to draw a parallel with the New York musician). To say that if we were to only consider the "innovation" aspect, I must say that I find little of it in Estrangeiro; at most, it can be seen as unique in blending new wave with Brazilian music, but I also think of certain compilations of earlier music where you can hear the same fusion. Moreover, Estrangeiro is practically all in 4/4, and there’s not much harmonic experimentation; many tracks are based on three chords, and the more complex ones explicitly refer to bossa nova. But then again, if we were to evaluate an album by the complexity of its rhythmic patterns, we would have to conclude that the albums by Dream Theater or any fusion band are masterpieces.
In short, for me, beyond all the innovation and complexity, I look at whether I like it or not. Generally, I have always enjoyed listening to Veloso, but I have never found any of his pieces "genius." I'm also missing some albums; for example, I haven't heard Circulado yet.
Since I’m at it, I’ll clarify my points on From Her too: the story about the pentatonics isn't true, also because playing the blues doesn’t automatically mean twelve bars and rigid harmony: from the description, it would almost seem like an Eric Clapton album, but that's not the case. In fact, the blues is referenced more in the sounds (the harmonica, for example) and in the spirit than in the structure, which, rhythmically, is decidedly interesting beyond the tempos used. Tracks like Cabin Fever or From Her to Eternity have an absolutely unique rhythmic tension. And this, aside from the "innovation" discourse, which, in the end, I care little about. In short, for me, Veloso hasn't made an album of that level (and I'm the first to say he’s an excellent musician with an enviable career, and I even liked his latest "Ce," unlike the latter part of the Australian's career). I've already mentioned Lunch and Foetus; it’s tough to see them as precursors to Cave in that sense, since they were part of the same group and influenced by the Birthday Party, of which From Her represents a perfection... as for Branca, I wouldn’t know; I’m not familiar with the Theoretical Girls, I know him from Ascension and the symphonies, and I’ve never heard any blues in that work...
