Boss?
This is the warmest April since 1865 and yours truly is slaving over a slowly melting laptop in near tropical conditions for the Midlands at any rate - to give you the inside track on the latest album from South American cross-over sensation Bebel Gilberto. You've got to admire our determination (me and the laptop) if nothing else. Like most readers (and writers) of Room Thirteen you're probably wondering who Bebel Gilberto actually is and whether you should bother finding out any more about an artist who has clocked up more than half a million plays on last.fm. The first question is relatively easy to answer, the second will depend greatly on your admiration (or otherwise) for bossa-nova music.
A quick glance at her bio reveals Gilberto to be the daughter of one of the inventors of "bossa nova" - Joćo Gilberto, a MOBO winner (in 2004 for her eponymous second album) and serial collaborator (with David Byrne and the Thievery Corporation amongst others). Akin to a method actor I've decided to recreate Brazilian conditions (in terms of heat at any rate) to try and appreciate this album fully although I must confess to being a complete novice when it comes to bossa-nova and Brazilian music in general (this is a subtle disclaimer!).
The album opens none-too promisingly with the dreary "Bring Back The Love" a mind-numbingly dull bossa-nova/house cross-over effort that's reminiscent of the type of thing that enjoyed a modicum of commercial success in the early 90's. The minor key electronica of "Close To You" (sadly not a Nouvelle Vague style cover of The Cure classic) and the lilting "Os Novos Yorkinos" are more palatable but hardly the stuff of dreams. Thankfully they don't make me reach for the skip button like the Sade lite and rather M.O.R. "Azul", the album's undeniable low-point. "Cacada" ups the ante thankfully while injecting some much needed samba rhythm into proceedings before the woozy trad jazz of "Night and Day" kicks in, triggering an urge for ice cold cocktails much like the rather enjoyable "Um Segundo" one of the album's true highlights.
Clearly this is an album aimed at the lucrative chill-out market and in numbers like the closing "Words" you can see "Momento" ensnaring the odd Zero 7 fan. Sadly Gilberto (Bebel not Silva) fails to hit the target as often as Julio Baptista (for this particular writer) offering little music of any real sustenance to tempt the uninitiated.