No Reino dos Afetos 2

For his second outing Berle, now relocated to São Paulo from his home state of Alagoas, has once more co-produced with fellow Alagoan, Batata Boy. While their first record had a lo-fi production out of necessity, there are certainly bigger production values on show here, bringing out the all-round gorgeousness of the songs. Berle prefers a strong mix of traditional MPB and romance with a tight control on melody, singing in service to these melancholic love songs, following a Northeastern tradition of songwriting. The contemporary production is not cluttered, there are simple melodic lines with elements of R&B and electronics that showcase strong pop songs so mellifluous they could have come from Clube de Esquina, or even 80s period Djavan. ‘Margem do Céu’ has a jazzy happy-go-lucky swing, but with interesting synth sounds burbling in the background. A light touch of AutoTune on ‘Acorda e Vem’ plumbs the aquatic depths of Frank Ocean, while ‘Tirolirole’ is swooning. Perhaps seeing something of himself, Berle covers an early 1970s track by Arthur Russell on ‘Love Comes Back’, which he interprets with gushing tones. Berle has a future so bright in Brazilian music he should be wearing factor 50 sunscreen.