Xutos e Pontapés Essentials

With their punk-inspired 1978 formation and a heroin-referencing name that's lost in translation, arena-rock heroes Xutos & Pontapés exemplified Portugal's post-dictatorship freedom. Xutos first seized upon rock's revolutionary possibilities with a solid and subtly melodic double-guitar foundation, eventually adding a jazzy tenor sax. Songs about sex, the Catholic church and other hot-button issues didn't win them friends among the establishment, but Xutos stuck to their tough, economical rock tinted with old-fashioned Portuguese melancholy.