Pitchfork

As yet another pop scion, Moreno Veloso's tread rather carefully on the coattails of his father Caetano. Veloso waited until just shy of his 30th birthday to release his debut Music Typewriter, and even then the 2000 disc was credited, modestly, to Moreno +2-- the "+2" of the equation being collaborators Alexandre Kassin and Domenico Lancelotti. In fact, espousing a sort of rotating auteur theory, the three have gone on to collaborate two more times, with each taking a turn as leader. Sincerely Hot, credited to Domenico +2, arrived in 2004, and now, following a protracted wait while U.S. label Luaka Bop searched for a distributor, comes Futurismo, credited to Kassin +2.

Veloso, Lancelotti, and Kassin are all versatile multi-instrumentalists, and their respective roles change from disc to disc. Further belying any cries of ego, Veloso first ceded vocal duties to Domenico, and here, on the third volume of their collaborations, Veloso and Domenico largely let Kassin take the mic. The fact that each iteration of the band features the same performers but slightly different sounds is a credit to the group's collective creative vision, with each album offering a slightly different take on 21st century samba and bossa nova.

No, this isn't your father's Brazilian pop, not even if your father is the famously freewheeling Caetano Veloso. In fact, even more than Moreno, Kassin has been around, working with everyone from Bebel Gilberto to Marisa Monte to Arto Lindsay, and appearing with what seems like about half of Brazil's musical community (his "+2" compatriots among them) in the supergroup Orquestra Imperial. Maybe those experiences explain why, despite the success of the Moreno and Domenico discs, Kassin's turn is nonetheless the strongest of the bunch. Then again, given that the group originally envisioned these albums (logically) as a trilogy, maybe Veloso, Lancelotti, and Kassin were just building up to Futurismo all along.

With Futurismo, the gentler acoustic sounds of Moreno's disc and the slightly more electronic leaning experiments of Domenico meet in a completely entrancing middle. Not middle of the road, mind, but middle as in mesh, a mix of both extremes: traditional and outré, music meant for lounging on the beach, reclining with a drink, hitting the dance floor, and scaring the neighbors all wrapped in one.

The space sounds and captured transmissions that conclude "Seu Lugar" don't knock it off its gentle path, but the jazzy funk of "Esquecido" isn't so passive. "Pra Lembar" and "Mensagem" are retro pop exotica, while "Ponto Final" rides a furious groove and menacing guitar riff into Tropicália nirvana. "Samba Machine" is a mix of fuzz rock and dance music, giving way to the breezy Afro-Caribbean beats of "Agua". "Simbioticos" is skittering indie rock.

Speaking of indie, studio mainstays John McEntire and Sean O'Hagan crop up on Futurismo as well, fitting considering how much those two have borrowed from the MBP scene. Two of those three crossovers, "Lakeline" and "Bow Road", are sung in English, perhaps out of deference to his additional collaborators, perhaps a sign that Kassin is looking to spread his sonic adventures north of the border.

In fact, whether chilling out or rocking out, Kassin would likely be welcomed enthusiastically were he to, say, tour North America more regularly, or even make more than the rare scattered appearance outside of Brazil. But as the myriad pleasures of Futurismo, like Sincerely Hot and Music Typewriter before it, demonstrate, what accounts for the appeal of the music is that no matter how far afield Kassin and crew go, it's Brazil and in particular the rhythms of Rio that remain foremost in their hearts. Moving away from those roots may potentially mean even greater fame, but what might get lost are the ineffable charms that draw listeners to gems like Futurismo in the first place.