Banzeiro

Find yourself some wiggle room: Dona Onete is back with another dose of salubrious grooves from the north of Brazil. And despite the fact she is now within touching distance of 80 years old, Onete is not slowing down. If anything she's speeding up, giving the fast-paced bangué rhythm a workout on the opening tracks of this album: it sure is a rhythm capable of putting you in a spin. With splattering drums, urgent clipped guitars and Onete attacking the vocals, it's pure exhilaration (when there's not saxophones spiralling out of control, that is). She keeps a remarkable pace going, showing off the unique fusions of indigenous and African influences that can be found in the Amazonian region of Pará. She also pens such political and pointed songs as ‘Na Linha do Arco-Íris’, a show of solidarity towards Brazil's LGBT community.

As the album progresses, the pace slows, with a number of simmering boleros entering the fold, though it's only on album closer, ‘Sonhos de Adolescente’, which aims to be nostalgic but veers into schmaltz, that she hits a bum note. But besides that, this is another stunner from the most vivacious septuagenarian out there.