Vagarosa (CD - 2009)

Ceu's second album, VAGAROSA, arriving four years after her debut, finds her sticking to the style that first brought her to the attention of the world music and hipster-lounge communities. She's still mixing the relaxed grooves of her native Brazil with those of downtempo/trip-hop acts like Thievery Corporation; still throwing in surprisingly capable reggae grooves ("Cangote," the first full song on this CD, boasts a deep dub bassline and some extremely haunting organ); and still multitracking her vocals into a conversation. It's a lilting yet heady blend that she pulls off with an utter confidence that's fascinating in such a young artist.

Ceu's songs flirt with a Tom Waits-like clatter sometimes, but always resolve themselves into drifting bliss. For insatance, her psychedelic take on Jorge Ben's "Rosa Menina Rosa," the only song on VAGAROSA she didn't write, works itself into a whirling storm of reverb and phasing effects, yet never loses its essential breeziness. Computer-generated vinyl crackle turns up on the album intro, as well as "Somnambulao" ("Sleepwalking. The last track, "Espaçonave," throws in field recordings of rain forest creatures and multi-tracked vocals alongside fuzzed-out guitar, creating a feel reminiscent of the work of the similarly brilliant Mexican art-pop princess Natalia Lafourcade. VAGAROSA is an impressive, assured album well worth a listener's time, whether one speaks Portuguese or not. minimize