Da Hora

The ten seconds of ghostly harmonium that comprises this album's prelude comes courtesy of iconic French actor Denis Lavant (as seen in the video for David Bowie's ‘Modern Love’, and unforgettable in Claire Denis' Beau Travail), and is almost entirely not predictive of what's to come. Not least in opener ‘A Fonte Secou’, which melodically conjures Bobby Hebb's soul standard, ‘Sunny’. Some more of this kind of stylistic wrong-footing might have made Brazilian singer-songwriter Vitto Meirelles' soporific art more compelling over the album, though there are some brilliant moments on this follow-up to 2017's Vem Rei.

The French connection continues with ‘Le Cannibale’, Meirelles crooning coyly about wanting to ‘eat you raw’ against a politely hiccupping reggae rhythm from master Afro-Brazilian drummer Domenico Lancellotti. Another Ilê Aiyê alumnus, Marivaldo Paim, supplies the delicious syncopation on single ‘Nada É Melhor Do Que Você’, in sinuous dialogue with Mereilles' honey-sweet voice and impeccably tempered clavier. Even when tackling hard-hitting subjects such as Brazil's tumultuous politics in ‘Homem Comum’ and ‘País Do BBB’, Meirelles' musical debt to the late great João Gilberto is obvious in his feather-light touch. Gilberto's recent passing will have come too late to be acknowledged on this album, but we can likely take it as given Meirelles will be paying homage next time around.