By Keith Walsh
From the upcoming BIKE album Arte Bruta, the single ‘O Torto Santo’ with Portuguese lyrics gives all the right feels. Even before I translated the words, I found the tune charming and endearing. Gently voiced by Julito Cavalcante, and with guitars and additional voices by Diego Xavier (guitar and voice), drums by Daniel Fumega (drums) and bass by João Gouvea, the song is so sweet sounding that I immediately opened a translate app to reveal the English lyrics:
Two souls live in my chest
Attentive and strong on a narrow path
Two souls live in my chest
I climb the mountain under the influence
Two souls sing in my bed
The wind is luck, on the accepted path
Two souls sing in my bed
High on the mountain the thin air
That’s lovely for sure. (I found out the lyrics provided with the press kit were only different in two words). But I didn’t understand the meaning until I translated the title. ‘O Torto Santo” means “The Crooked Saint.” Perhaps a message about ambiguous morality? As explained by Cavalcante, the message is about being aware and facing difficulties with courage.
Interestingly enough, the coda of “O Torto Santo,” with its deliberate tape wavers and trebly vocal harmonies, evokes the psychedelia of the late Beatles. Certainly there’s that influence here, but BIKE are their own thing and I can’t wait to hear the album Arte Bruta, coming on May 5.
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