Erosão

EROSÃO is one of those brave, idiosyncratic albums that slowly finds its audience – I’ve not read too much about it, but its power is in not only its vibrancy and complexity, but also its capacity to pull everything back and show admirable economy when necessary. Recorded in São Paulo, Brazil, and pieced together in Moers, Germany, it seems to share a spirit with certain forebears – the avant-ness of Tom Zé, the wild contours of Caetano Veloso’s Araçá Azul – but modernised, given over to the hard edits and glitching rigour of modern electronics. The album’s unpredictability is telling, given Portugal’s background is in improvisation. A mesmerising collection of art song, where meandering melodies pour and melt over music that moves like shifting sands.