Four years after the delirious success of Tanto Tempo and the equally well marketed and equipped remix album, Bebel Gilberto (daughter of Brazilian Bossa-god, Joao Gilberto, step-daughter to Astrud Gilberto) returns to temper our lives with another twelve tracks of blissed-out loveliness.
Drawing from an age of innocence where the flavour of your ice-cream was of cultural significance and beaches were a lush, exotic farscape of impossible fantasy rather than the loci of another stumble to and from Pacha, eponymously titled new album, Bebel Gilberto is a sultry little boatride of sweet, shuffling Bossa. Smoother, more earnest and clearly more romantic than its predecessor, the album begins with a ticking clock. It’s not a high-impact gesture, admittedly, but it more than ably characterizes the idle passing of time in a land that time forgot. Brushy drums, lazy flutes and some gorgeously swelling strings dominate an album totally devoid of artifice or pretension. ‘Simplesmente’, ‘Aganjú’, ‘Everyday You’ve Been Gone’ – they all share the same innocent intent to tend and anoint. Barely rising above the natural pulse of a nylon guitar hammering gently on the fingerboard the album forgoes all the superfluous studio trickery and anachronisms that occasionally tarnished Tanto Tempo, replacing the quirky electronica with more traditional and tender Brazilian arrangements. It also boasts some superior songwriting: ‘Everyday You’ve Been Away’ and ‘Baby’ being just two defining moments.
In short, a remarkably well imagined follow up to what must now be ranked an old classic.