Brazilian psychsoul- garage-pop combo Garotas Suecas. Sweaty, funky, exotic, committed, Garotas Suecas (Swedish Girls, in Portuguese) hail from São Paulo, Brazil and offer up a hearty, full-throated stew combining the best elements of their country's homegrown tropicalia with Anglo-American soul and freakbeat. While they are often compared to their 1960s forbears - including legendary fellow Brazilians Os Mutantes, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso - Garotas Suecas are having the sort of early career success that the 21st Century uniquely affords: before even releasing a full-length album, through widely circulated singles, EPs and touring, the band generated an extraordinary amount of excitement from bloggers and critics. The band comprises Guilherme Saldanha (vocals and harmonica), Irina Bertolucci Chermont (keys), Perdido (bass), Sesa (guitar) and the Paoliello brothers, Nico (drums) and Tomaz (guitar). They formed in 2005, when they met as teenagers at an open mic night. They rehearsed in the home of an area poet, self-funded three EPs, toured Brazil, and improbably landed an MTV Video Music Award. Garotas Suecas are especially beloved for their sweaty, infectious live show: "We are down for playing anywhere where the crowd is down for shaking very hard to our music."