Gal Costa – Gal – LP

Audio Clarity

Reissued by Audio Clarity, the second of two self-titled albums released by Gal Costa in 1969, set the high watermark in terms of overall insanity and complete experimental freedom for the entire lot; not Caetano Veloso nor Gilberto Gil, Tom Zé, or even the rambunctious Os Mutantes stepped this far out into psychedelia, and even though Costa had hinted at the noisier aspects she was interested in exploring with her previous release, this album must have shocked listeners when it arrived on the shelves. In fact, 35 years of MPB — or music from anywhere else in the world for that matter — hasn’t heard another sonic assault quite like this. Costa is a ball of contradictions here: overtly wild but in control; sweet and accessible, yet brash; and, at times, almost violent as she screams and moans her way through the album while spindly, whiny guitars mix with soulful bass grooves, bombastic drums, exotic horns, woodwinds, and strings.

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