Bufo Borealis, Diptera (2022) – As with so many cinematic orchestras, this one too often seems to think cool grooves with tasty licks will suffice while they provide you the soundtrack for the neo-noir heist flick you’ll never be able to see, but there are signs of life that go deeper here, too: the Hermeto Pascoal tribute, the way “Argila” falls apart a bit like Scandinavian avant-jazz in the back half. Nonetheless, the triumph is a cool groove with tasty licks they nail. “O Alfaiate” sounds like a lost outtake from Get Shorty. Listen and buy here. Grade: B-
Ricardo Dias Gomes, Muito Sol – After three albums long on experimentalism and mood, but short on songs, Gomes breaks through on his fourth disk not just by writing better, but by getting even more experimental. He throws in Krautrock grooves, Stereolab basslines, explosive guitars, quietly intense guitars, sax freakouts, whatever works. Tied to it all are plenty of actual songs, but he’s also not afraid to just revel in sound and texture if it fits. Gomes is probably best known for his support of Caetano Veloso during the latter’s rock period (Cê, Zii & Zie, and Abraçaço), but not only does he make more of that move than Veloso did, he does more with it than many of his fellow Rio scenesters (including the Sá brothers, who appear here) have. The difference between interesting and compelling is the purposefulness of it all. Whereas his earlier works took chances and explored sounds seemingly for the sake of being out there, here Gomes deploys tricks to further the flow of the album and the songs. So “Morrerei Por Isso” dissolves into buzz to segue into the going-nowhere motorik of “Fllux”. “Menos” takes a left turn to shake up the pace, while “Coração Sulamericano” roils your ears at the end in a nice reversal of the tendency to close on a quiet note. Although Gomes recently moved to Lisbon and recorded there and in New York, this album is very much a product of the current Rio scene (where it was also partly recorded), and it ranks with the best experimental Brazilian rock albums that scene has produced in the last decade. Listen and buy here. Grade: A
Grupo Um, Starting Point – Two brothers, drummer Zé and pianist Lelo Nazário, who had worked with Hermeto Pascoal, decide to do their own thing, enlist bassist Zeca Assumpção, and launch the well regarded Grupo Um, who released their debut album in 1979. Only turns out that’s not the full story. In 1975 they first gathered and worked on the sessions collected here by Far Out Recordings. It’s probably best to hear this collection not as a long lost debut but as three youngsters figuring out who they would become together as well as individually. This isn’t nearly as polished or as deep as that debut will be, but it’s also fun to hear them sorting themselves out. Fusion (“Onze por Oito”), free (“Organica”), Afro-Brazilian (“Jardim Cândida”), hard bop (“Suite Orquidea Negra”): they try whatever sounds like a good idea. The problem is this album doesn’t really cohere as a result. There’s no flow or center. But the strength is they do them all well. So enjoy the foretaste and hope someone is inspired to reissue that debut. Listen and buy here. Grade: B
La Leuca, Dente de Leite (Deluxe) (2019) – Rock quartet from Florianópolis. Highly recommended to people who can’t wait for a new Boogarins album, but even less enthusiastic listeners might find something to like here. You can hear the non-deluxe version here. The deluxe can be found on streaming services. Grade B-
Lurdez da Luz and Quebrante, Devastada – Pioneering rapper with Mamelo Sound System, Lurdez started strongly in her solo career before fizzling out into occasional singles and ill-formed live albums. So to say she sounds more engaged and stronger on this EP than she has in a decade might not be as impressive as one could wish, but she does and it’s good to have her back. Apparently about the struggles of Latin American women, what gets across even when you can’t find lyrics to translate is the commitment. Closer to the alt-rap grooves of Mamelo and her debut than to the bam bam bam of her triumphant Gana Pelo Bang, she still find plenty of ways over these four tracks to let you know she’s still alive and she still matters. You can listen here. Grade: B
Ná Ozzetti, Zécarlos Ribeiro and Danilo Penteado, Ná Canta Zécarlos Ribeiro – Two old pros and bandmates team up with youngster. Ozzetti and Ribeiro are both in the semi-active Vanguarda Paulista band Grupo Rumo, and while Ozzetti has maintained an active solo career, Ribeiro has kept a lower profile than she (or Luiz Tatit, who wrote most of the band’s music). Here Ozzetti lends her charismatic voice to his songs, while Penteado plays most of the instruments that bring it to life. The five tracks fit with the mature Vanguarda ethos: rooted in Brazil but reaching out to the world, and as talented as the two guys are, Ozzetti is the draw. Her clear, direct voice commands attention as she slyly throws some curveballs in the performance. Approaching fifty years of professional singing, she knows how to use her voice for maximum impact, and when she’s paired to music as good as this, she’s irresistible. Listen here. Grade: B+
Iara Rennó, Orí Okàn – The first thing you miss is the drums. The success of Oríkì was built on those layers of percussion. This sort of sequel leans into voice and guitar with percussion muted or even just implied. So hypnotic is replaced with pretty. The transcendence of the predecessor took you into the world of the orixás. To be a bit mean, this sounds like the coffee shop version. Instead of unmooring you from from the modern, urban and secular, this leaves you firmly ensconced in that world with a bit of nice, background spirituality to flavor your day. But that is a bit mean because the album still has Rennó writing and singing and playing guitar. “Oyá Mesan” ranks with her best tracks, and the rest is solid work from a top tier talent. It’s just not Oríkì. Listen here. Grade: B
Elza Soares, No Tempo da Intolerância – Since neither capitalism nor nostalgia can let the dead rest, we get a posthumous studio album from producer Rafael Ramos that completes some tracks the two had been working on as the follow up to 2019’s Planeta Fome. You get politics. You get collabs with young guns (Josyara is added to the mix this time). You get Elza milking her shot voice for all it’s worth. But you don’t get the poetic ending of last year’s live album, which aptly summed up her career, ended on the perfect song, and was actually recorded just a few days before her death. At least Ramos is respectful enough to put out something that’s not crass or a mere cash grab. Just wish he’d let that perfect ending of the live album be her final word. Grade: B
Jean Tassy and Iuri Rio Branco, Amanhã (2021) – While front-people get all the press, musos love to know the behind the scenes details to sniff out the real talents in the art. You know: the people who produce, play or write while some pretty or charismatic mouthpiece sells the art to the masses. So when those teams split smart people know that the real talents will continue to make great art while the mouthpieces struggle. Like the way Van Halen made so much good music without David Lee Roth or Johnny Marr without Morrissey or Jimmy Page without Robert Plant. So, actually, you get the point. Working with Tassy instead of Marina Sena, Branco is no less engaging as a music maker, but turns out once again the mouthpiece is the key to the magic. This is not a bad record at all. If fact, it’s pretty good. But without Sena’s charisma, voice and ambition driving it all, the results are enjoyable not compelling. Still, sorta fun to hear Branco exercise his production chops. Listen here. Grade: B-
Tori, Descese – Differentiating yourself in the voice and sambafied guitar crowd is a difficult task. So this one wafted in the background, sorta connecting, but never taking off until one day, on shuffle in my 2023 folder, two tracks finally hit the spot. Like comfort food. And that’s how it best works. That’s not a slight. There’s a reason you go to certain tastes and sounds, and those that work do so not because they are particularly innovative or brilliant, but because they find that sweet spot so well. And that’s exactly what Tori does on her debut 12 tracks in 40-ish minutes without ever flubbing it or hitting a sour note. Listen and buy here. Grade: B+
YMA and Jadsa, Zelena – Opposites may attract, but they can also be train wrecks, whether romantically or creatively. This pairing has all the hallmarks of disaster. Cute electro-popper YMA’s light, straightforward fun vs. Jadsa’s twisty, proggy alt-samba and electronica. They clash too much. Yet these five tracks plus one intro sizzle because the two figure out how to challenge each other without bringing their approaches into conflict. They pull each other out of their comfort zones and while it may speak to their aesthetic smarts, it probably says more about how they trusted each other. Jadsa reaches out to the audience like she never has, while YMA (Yasmin Mamedio), shows a willingness to get weird and take leaps she never did on her debut. Maybe keeping it to five tracks helps, but whatever the reason they don’t stumble once. This success was not on my Brazilian music bingo card for 2023. Listen here. Grade: A-
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