Real Rio

As much as I’m reluctant to begin a review of a Brazilian compilation with a football metaphor; this double-CD really is a game of two halves. The first CD consists largely of the inventive fun Rio's musicians have been having lately within the genres of rock, pop and indie, whereas the second takes us more into the realms of dance and electronica, where the tracks largely consist of little more than fractured, glitchy programmed drum tracks by the likes of Eric Alves, Woo and Marginal Men. The first is more diverse, offering all kinds of pleasingly edgy surprises from lo-fi rock to more African-influenced polyrhythmic grooves. Negro Leo's ‘Ilhas de Calor’ sounds like some marvellous amalgam of Captain Beefheart and Devo, with some Cure thrown in for good measure. Then there's a track from the octogenarian Elza Soares, which proves you’re never too old to shock. Not to mention Opala's woozy dreamscape ‘Maracajaiçu’ and the joyous electro-pop of Os Ritmistas’ ‘Marejou’. As always, Mais Um Discos have avoided the cheese and delivered the prime cuts.