Dreaming

Though her star turn at the recent Scotland versus Brazil football friendly didn't, alas, garner her nearly as much press attention as mohawked youngster Neymar, Sabrina Malheiros is surely a hot enough property to secure a similar gig during Brazil's forthcoming World Cup. She's certainly among the most prolific of the myriad scions of Brazil's musical aristocracy doing the rounds right now, and – as a songwriter, singer and no mean guitarist – she is one of the most multi-talented. Dreaming comes fairly hot on the heels of 2008's much acclaimed New Morning, ditching its strings for a more club-centric, slickly electronic sound courtesy of partner/ co-producer Daniel Maunick. Lithe, cheeky and queasy by turns, Maunick's synth lines add a bit of spice to an occasionally over-polished production.

On the evidence of ‘Fragil’, Malheiros has a truly great album in her, though maybe she needs to indulge her passion for the old school rather than trying to square it with the ‘nu’, as in the manicured R&B of ‘Paranoia’ and ‘Can't Hide Love’. Reminiscent of the music of veteran percussionist Papete or the cinematic sound of Rosinha de Valença, ‘Fragil’ rides waves of liquid rhythm and sky-panning flute, with Malheiros mesmeric on acoustic guitar and wordless melody. ‘Opera’ likewise, convincingly stakes her claim as inheritor to Joyce's sub-tropical scat. ‘Primeira’, the track most obviously influenced by the legacy of her dad, Azymuth founder Alex, underlines the effectiveness of an organic instrumental palette; there's space for her voice to melt into, rather than the distractions of fashion.