Ceu / Caravana Sereia Bloom

1. Falta de Ar 2. Amor de Antigos 3. Asfalto e Sal 4. Retrovisor 5. Teju na Estrada 6. Contravento 7. Palhaço 8. You Won't Regret It 9. Sereia 10. Baile de Ilusão 11. FFFree 12. Streets Bloom 13. Chegar Em Mim

Ceu became the heavily-promoted darling of Brazil because of her cool, self-assured vocals and the way she managed to bring together the strands of her country's musical scene, matching bossa and samba against more experimental backing, often influenced by the electronica movement of Sao Paolo. Vagarosa was the finest Brazilian album of 2009, but is now followed by this surprisingly brief set, with 13 songs squeezed into 35 minutes. Inspired by road trips to Brazil's north-east, it's a cheerful album, but lacks the freshness and invention of her earlier work, and often sounds as if she's aiming too hard for the commercial global market. Still, her voice is distinctive and versatile as ever. She's at her best with the finger-clicking samba-funk of Falta De Ar and the languid, drifting ballad, Palhaco, but sounds merely pleasant, and forgettable, when switching to English for Lucas Santtana's drifting Streets Bloom, or reviving 60s reggae with You Won't Regret It. - The Guardian.

Price: $15.98