ÃO

Who’s ever heard of a tilde? No one? A tilde is a strange, curved line that the Spanish and Portuguese, for some reason, plonk above certain vowels. Otherwise, it’s not that remarkable, but a fact a day keeps the bottom spot in a quiz away. It is remarkable, remarkably so in fact: the Belgian group ÃO, a quartet touring Europe with equal parts fado, electronic glitter & gold and indie pop in their van.  When ÃO played here at the Club two years ago, a torrent of praise echoed afterwards from the gathered mouths of the audience. Back then they had only one and a half LPs to draw from; this year they arrive armed with a marvellous new album: “Malandra” (2026).  In the first two months of this year, we’ve already seen albums by Harry Styles, Gorillaz, Kim Gordon, James Blake and A$AP Rocky shine on the shelves, but no global star creeps under your skin quite as slyly as this Ão. By the time you reach the final track on side A, the conquest of your heart is already complete and you’re hooked for life. Close your eyes for a moment and you can almost hear “Malandra” shouting “This is Spartaaa!”, but in Portuguese. With the current energy crisis in mind, here’s another top tip from Test Aankoop: get your hands on “Malandra”; we guarantee the thermostat will be set to Eternal Summer during the day. Be sure to put the record on in the evening too, when darkness has draped its blanket over your neighbourhood, and your thermostat will be more likely to opt for the warm melancholy of late summer or early autumn. In other words: every song, every sound, every word on “Malandra” sounds like a celebration of life and all the ups and downs that go with it. Thirteen songs, each offering the healing power of at least as many smiles or group hugs. Furthermore: with Ão and Dressed Like Boys on one night, we’re serving you so much beauty that we’re considering handing out free fans, just in case it all gets a bit too much.  PS: the Portuguese translation of “This is Sparta!” is “Isto é Esparta!”. No idea why there’s no tilde here.