The Shine Of Dried Electric Leaves by Cibelle Cd

cd90-000279-nw

Since her breakout performance on Suba's landmark Sao Paolo Confessions, singer Cibelle (pronounced see-Bell-ee) has enchanted Brazilian pop aficionados with her lovely musical purr. Here on her second album, the cool lounge production of her debut is pushed into a darker, more experimental realm without losing her music's sensual beauty. As ambitious as the production, the songwriting is challenging too with highlights like "Phoenix" and "Flying High" using a linear style rather than the back and forth of a verse, bridge and chorus arrangement. There's a couple of interesting covers as well--while her spare version of Tom Waits's "Green Grass" is a seemingly offbeat choice, her haunting, glitchy and near-unrecognizable cover of Jobim's "Por Toda A Minha Vida" is a different kind of surprise. With ultra-cool Apollo Nove and Tunng in the producers' chair, this subtle kind of sonic and music revision is to be expected, but it's a tribute to the singer that she keeps the challenging sound under the sway of her lovely voice.