Lua Adversa

It is telling that Cristina Clara was a regular at Tejo Bar, a tiny spot in Lisbon’s historical quarter of Alfama that became a mandatory stop for Portuguese, Brazilian and African musicians from Portuguese-speaking countries. There she met two key figures from her debut album Lua Adversa, Pedro Loch (classical guitar) and Edu Miranda (mandolin), who proved critical for the curious transatlantic music that Clara pursues, leaning into fado and chorinho – both separately and together.

Bringing together those two song forms, each fed by nostalgia and a sweet brand of melancholia, Clara demonstrates that she is not especially interested in giving in to a particular tradition, preferring to address her musical passions under a similar mood. The opening track, ‘Manjericos’, accurately portrays the singer’s cross-cultural essence when she sings a fado that narrates the popular festivity in Alfama where we can find Lisbon’s patron Saint John side-by-side with the Brazilian orixá goddess Iemanjá. Still, Clara sounds more sparkling on tracks like ‘Saia Velhinha’, when she sings along to Portuguese traditional rhythms. This musical passage between Portugal and Brazil has already been crossed by artists like Eugénia Melo e Castro, but while Cristina Clara does a fine job with this fusion she never quite takes off. Lua Adversa is a nice enough record, but it’s just like a night well spent in Tejo Bar – a warm and passionate musical sharing, but a little short on artistic intent.