Aloysius

Interesting choice, and completely new to me. I've listened to some traditional fado so that's probably my closest reference. Like MicShazam I dig hearing sung Portuguese, although it's taken me a long time and lots of listening to Brazilian Chôro to warm to it. Portuguese has a huge number of vowels and diphthongs which give the singing flow an uneven texture, especially compared to Spanish which is pretty much the direct opposite (having no dipthongs and all vowels of equal length).

For me this album has some great guitar and singing, and songs that are simple and sometimes great in their melancholia (especially Afinal - A Minha Cançáo). That brings me to the thing that often killed it for me:

The synth. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge synth fan, especially when it comes to synths sounding like synths, but those cheesy string sounds - fair enough if it's 80s pop but this isn't A Flock of Seagulls. It might seem petty but the synth really killed a lot of these tracks for me. Even so, there was enough here to still give this:
7/10

rubber soul

I wouldn't get discouraged, Mic. Everybody has different tastes. As long as you enjoy it, that's all that really matters.

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MicShazam

Never thought about that difference between Portugese and Spanish. In fact, until about a year ago when I started listening to a lot of Portugese vocals, I had thought that it would sound basically exactly like Spanish. Interestingly, my parents visitet Lisbon for the first time this summer and they were very surprised by the language. My mom said it sounded like everyone was speaking Polish

It is also interesting to me how differently people react to non-English vocals on this board. Personally, the more different sung languages are represented in my record collection, the better!

Oh and btw, I completely get what you say about the synths, but personally, I tend to like synthesizers and the fact that it does not convincingly register as real strings or horns here just adds to a particular kind of texture and charm for me. I take it as more of an interesting mix of soundscapes than a problem.

Oh I'm not discouraged as such. People even quite liked my previous pick. It's more that it makes for bad album club fodder when an album gets predominantly "meh" reactions. Something more uniformly loved, hated or more divisive really gets the club going. That's why I'll try to be less nice next time. With this album pick, I think I was trying too much to make it something tasteful and likeable.

Trollheart

Inb4 Batty with "I'd dip into her thong!"

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

MicShazam

I can't really remember if the one who picked an album is supposed to review it or not, but here's some thoughts.

The album is long, that is true. 77 minutes and 16 seconds spread across 16 tracks, all roughly in the same style. I do often hear people bring up complaints about album length when talking about music, so it seems this is a pet peeve for many people. I've heard quite many people say that 40-45 minutes is ideal. To me, it doesn't really matter so much. I've got the option to skip or create a playlist. Or, as I often do with long albums - I can cut the album in two and focus on one half at a time. Many long albums could have been spread across two discs instead of one, and then perhaps fewer people would mind 70 minute albums. It is fairly rare that a record label allows bands to do so, since two CD's cost more to produce than one, obviously - but the sales price for one album remains the same.

Would this album benefit from being on 2 discs instead of 1? Sure, but any time I don't feel like taking in all 77 minutes, I'll just cut it in half. I treat long albums like a book. Put in a bookmark when you need a break, then continue later. No problem.

Now, I've mentioned before that this band is very important to me, and they are. Top 10 material, easily. The first album of theirs that I heard - O Paraiso - took less than two songs to blow my mind. It opened up a whole world for me. Since then, I've been getting into the related genre of fado in a big way, plus various other sorts of international folk music. It really does not happen often that the discovery of an artist expands your musical horizons that much, but Madredeus did for me.

This album is maybe not the easiest front-to-back listen in their discography, but like with movies and books, I don't expect an album to necessarily be breezy, fun and easy to appreciate. This album takes some patience for me. A bit of work. But I really, really appreciate the nuances of all of these arrangements when I do have the mental energy and patience to give it my full attention. I do not agree that the tracks all sound the same. They only do so if you don't really pay attention. I'm not saying this is music as complex and layered as old classical music, but it isn't exactly instant gratification either. I guess I don't mind an album asking me to sit down, shut up and pay attention.

Teresa Salgueiro has a wonderful voice with a lot of character to it. I've even got three of her solo albums, on top of the 10+ Madredeus albums I've got. I like this stuff, and I like it a lot.

Biggest highlights on this particular album:

Anseio (Fuga Apressada)
Ecos Na Catedral
Afinal - A Minha Cançao
O Labirinto Parado
O Olhar
A Quimera
A Capa Negra (Mano a Mano)
Palpitação
Tarde, Por Favor

8/10 - On one hand it has some of my favorite Madredeus songs, on the other hand, they have more consistent albums. Comparing it to the rest of their discography, it's a solid 8. I don't regret choosing it for the club over the other albums. That opening salvo of 5 amazing tracks in a row makes it the right choice.

Trollheart

You are. Meant to review your own album, I mean.

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Goofle

This album was full of perfectly nice songs, but damn was it a slog to listen through. But, to it's credit, I didn't skip any of the songs. I couldn't name you my favourite or least favourite song because it was consistently very decent, but I have a hard time saying I thought any of the tracks were truly fantastic.

The problem with an album like this is that it doesn't have much flow. No real diversion in tempo, style, pitch or anything. Just a consistent sound throughout, which makes it hard to rate. But I'll have to settle on a 6/10.

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Neapolitan

I like Folk Rock, Acid Folk/Psychedelic Folk and them some of my favorite genres. I also listen to a variety of world music, but not too familiar with all that is out there. I like Mic Shazam's picks. So this album had potential. However there was a snag, which was pointed out by other members. I think the synthesizer put a damper on things, it was thin and sometimes out of place. I imagine if you replace the synth with a real string section, a choir or maybe an ensemble of Portuguese guitarra that would had better choice, it would have blended in better.

Anseio (Fuga Apressada)I didn't like the synth on the first track, because the synth was a bit repetitive. It sounded like a analog synth, whether it was or not I am not sure. But if it was an analog the musician didn't use the instrument to its full potential.

Ecos na Catedral The synth pads on this is just OK, kinda thin sounding however step all over the toes of the other instruments. It mixed well with the other instruments.

Afinal - A Minha Canção The nylon guitar was a bit reminiscent of Genesis.

O Labirinto Parado I like the piano, the sound had a warmth to it. The track was a bit Wind & Wuthering-esque for me.

O Olhar The music on this track was a bit Al Stewart-ish.

Graça - A Última Ciência this was a good track.

A Vida Boa - This reminds me more of South American than Portuguese music.


I am stuck somewhere between rating it a 7/10 and an 8/10.

If you like the nylon guitar on the album check out Classic guitar players who perform the songs of Heitor Villa-Lobos and Antonio Lauro.

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