Audiopile Review: Some of you may recall us recently highlighting Brazilian songwriter Ana Frango Elétrico and her Mr Bongo debut, Me Chama De Gato Que Eu Sou Sua, which was likely the first time most of us outside of Brazil (and Japan, where she appears to have a healthy following) too notice. Preceding Me Cham was Little Electric Chicken Heart, garnering her a Latin Grammy and a bit of notoriety in her home country as a new voice of contemporary Brazilian music that’s rooted in tradition but armed with a refreshing take. The album has remained out of print for some time and was only pressed in Brazil and Japan, Mr Bongo now rescuing this for the wider audience it deserves. Released in 2019, Little Electric Chicken Heart was released when Elétrico was only 22 years old, writing and producing the entire album. All of which is especially awe-inspiring when considering the massive cast on the album—dozens of players that required at least two arrangers just for vocals and brass. Despite the amount of labor and the sizeable ensemble here, the album is rather breezy and freewheeling, reaching back to the balmy sounds of MPB and tropicalia, making over the beloved Brazilian sounds with a modern indie-lite aesthetic. Big swaying horns, languid slide guitar, gently bubbling percussion, and Elétrico’s sun-rich vocals are woven together with a dreamy groove, evoking everything from Stereolab to Devendra Banhart to Gal Costa. A lovely mid-summer treat for the beach-bound.

Ana Frango Eletrico’s petit cult classic masterpiece Little Electric Chicken Heart from 2019, which was only ever released on vinyl and CD in Brazil and Japan, has fast become a collector’s item.

Well received by fans, DJs, and reviewers on release, the album’s reputation has been slowly building ever since, gaining a Latin Grammy nomination in 2020, and now solidly cementing itself as a gem of contemporary Brazilian music.

Across the album’s nine tracks, Ana blends elements and influences from MPB, Tropicalia, indie rock, punk and pop, forging them together with a sumptuous dose of their signature style. The finesse of ‘Saudade’ kicks off the LP, one of Ana’s most known tracks to a non-Brazilian audience. A sublime opener, beginning with a spellbinding piano solo before transcending into a beautiful dream-laden slice of warmth, complete with luscious jazzy horns and deft vocal delivery. ‘Promessa e previsoes’ follows, the only track on the album not to be written by Ana, instead being penned by Chico Franca. It’s a swelling and sweeping twilight groover, building and breaking across absorbing peaks.

A short, sweet and refreshing record, that leaves nothing to waste, marrying playful ideas with poignant themes. Little Electric Chicken Heart is a future classic and will beguile fans of ’70s Brazilian recordings, Gal Costa, Mac DeMarco, Stereolab, Superorganism, Caetano Veloso and more.