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After impressing the inquisitive as part of the Afrocentric and highly experimental samba-punk of Met\u00e1 Met\u00e1<\/strong><\/a>, S\u00e3o Paulo singer and songwriter Ju\u00e7ara Mar\u00e7al steps out with a solo album that\u2019s perhaps a bit more accessible, but no less inventive and inspired\u2013and though it never mentions the execrable Bolsonaro by name, it carries a compelling if unspoken political energy. The sheer diversity of the sounds here can be attributed to the parade of compatriots who assisted in the production process, while the retention in part of Met\u00e1 Met\u00e1\u2019s exploratory inclinations in Mar\u00e7al\u2019s marvelous neo-tropic\u00e1lia reminds one that the record was a collaboration with her bandmate Kiko Dinucci. (Met\u00e1 Met\u00e1\u2019s third member, Thiago Fran\u00e7a, was presumably busy with his boisterous, anti-reactionary bloco<\/em>, who\u2019ve also recently released a rather espetacular<\/em><\/strong><\/a> album.) While excellent from end to end, Delta Est\u00e1cio Blues<\/em> affords the lucky listener a number of really exceptional moments. After the elegant drama of opener \u201cVi de Relance a Coroa\u201d, highlights include the hallucinatory title track and the incendiary rap of \u201cCrash\u201d. Francophone listeners will appreciate the rough, raw reinterpretation of \u201cLa femme \u00e0 Barbe\u201d by the great Brigitte Fontaine, France\u2019s feminine equivalent of Serge Gainsbourg. Closer \u201cIyalode Mb\u00e8 Mb\u00e8\u201d, built out of a Yoruba praise chant and spiced with honking saxophone, is a lovely last word and a confirmation of these musicians\u2019 connection to Candombl\u00e9 and the resilient African spirituality of their region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n