Clareia

When Bebel Gilberto released Tanto Tempo in 2000, she almost single-handedly invented electronic bossa nova. Being the daughter of bossa's creator João Gilberto, she was quite possibly the only musician who could venture into such a potentially disastrous idea and keep safe from performing a terrible heresy. Against all odds, Tanto Tempo was a charming record and turned Bebel into a planetary sensation.
But it's still quite a mystery why Brazilian singers get caught in this game of trading their rhythmically astounding legacy for the most uninteresting and artificial chilled-out drum patterns. Sabrina Malheiros, practically unknown in Brazil, has based her career in Europe and calls her music nu-bossa. Which is to say she follows Bebel's trademark style, spreading electronics all over her bossa- and samba-inspired tracks. But the smooth tone Malheiros adopts only enhances this kind of cool, sophisticated setting perfect for beach lounges and sunset parties where music becomes a comfortable and innocuous soundtrack.
In her best moments, Sabrina Malheiros doesn’t fall far from the beautiful and elegant songwriting of Brazilian songwriter Adriana Calcanhotto. But on this album, it feels as if she is trying to distract us from her songs and to be as forgettable as she possibly can.