Brazilian contralto and
Caetano Veloso protégé takes a conceptual route on her third record -- her first for the Deutsche Grammophon label -- and delivers one of the most engaging albums of the year. She focuses her otherworldly voice -- a delicious stew that's part
Amalia Rodrigues, part
Odetta, and all bliss -- on the legendary Afro-sambas of
Vinícius de Moraes and
Baden Powell, the team responsible for "Girl From Impanema."
Rodrigues, who is a member of the polytheist Afro-Bahian candomblé cult and a fierce supporter of the African culture of Bahia, reverently interprets these 12 meditations on divinity and ceremony with stunning grace. Producer/guitarist
Luis Brasil, along with
Veloso and executive producer
Joe Boyd, creates warm, blue-as-the-ocean soundscapes that wrap subtle percussion, shimmering guitars, and mid-'60s string sections around the always-present
Rodrigues like a rainbow, showcasing her peerless segueing from folksinger to operatic chanteuse. One can only marvel at the lush, serpentine arrangements on "Canto de Ossanha," "Lamento de Exu," and "Bocoche" -- the latter would sound right at home on
Milton Nascimento's '70s masterpiece
Clube Da Esquina. Her two previous records, Nos and Sol Negro, were gorgeous, moody soundtracks to the Brazilian netherworld that bristled with tropical darkness.
Mares Profundos, despite its seemingly weighty subject matter, is by far her most accessible, danceable, and easygoing effort, and likely made many a critic's year-end list and carved out a third impressive notch in her young, remarkable career. ~ James Christopher Monger