Back in August, former Pixies bassist Paz Lenchantin announced her return with a solo album, Triste. Soon after the news went live, listeners on Reddit and YouTube noted glaring similarities between the lead single, “Hang Tough,” and Chico Buarque and Milton Nascimento’s Brazilian classic “Cálice.” It turns out the song’s authors, Buarque and the Tropicalía legend Gilberto Gil, were listening, too. In August, the duo filed a notice accusing Lenchantin of plagiarizing “Calice,” as reported in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. Lenchantin, who was born in Argentina, made no public comment, but the song has since been removed from streaming services and the album tracklist displays another song title.
Reached by Pitchfork through a representative, Lenchantin declined to comment. Her label, Hideous Human, will release Triste tomorrow, October 17.
