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Serendipity is not a word that I throw around too often on this page. It should usually be reserved for the most jaw-dropping of coincidences. Something so seemingly impossible occurs, it almost hints at the chance of a higher power. The serendipity factor increases when you factor in the transnational element. What happens when a Brazilian based in Austria and a German producer link up through the sheer magic of happenstance? You get something resembling Curió Curió. Luiza Monteiro and Dustin Braun crossed paths and found a shared interest in the songwriting traditions of Brazil, specifically MPB (‘música popular brasileira’ for the uninitiated) and samba. Deeper than that though, they used their shared musicophilia to blend these styles with the grooves of disco and the vibrant sounds of psychedelia, crafting a near immaculate concoction that barely even stays its welcome.
It’s sensible that the name of such a collaboration translates directly to ‘bullfinch’ in Portuguese. This particular aviary is considered a native songbird in Brazil, and even receives a tip of the cap in the title of the very weightless “Menina Passarinho”. Character-wise, and even spiritually, Curió Curió is so carefree and well-travelled, that you could absolutely draw a metaphorical connection between the nature of this record and the existence of a bird. The music on this album is also so consistently bubbly and funky, it feels like a life-affirming ode to performance and creativity; a shared ecosystem of disparate elements naturally enforcing its respective roles. The playful samba of the opener ‘Tô Chegando’, with all of its chirpy vocal harmonies accentuating the song’s pocket, plays out like a flock calling and responding to each other. The angular brass on tracks like ‘Bem Querer’ or ‘Vem pra Casa’ might resemble a very staccato bird call if you listen closely enough. I haven’t even mentioned just how fantastically produced and arranged this album is either. Dustin’s gentle touch, even with so much occurring, is partially what makes this such an intriguing listen.
It isn’t all just sparkly ebullience either. Even the more mid-paced cuts showcase an excellent wielding of musical subtlety. ‘Raiz’ builds a shuffling jazz jam around a couple of uncharacteristically haunting melodic lines. The glitchy engineering injects some disorientation and colour into the mix, acting as the final layer on top of this very finely balanced cake. ‘Mar sem Dar Pé’ is the most sensual of the album’s balladry, kissed by an array of heavenly synth and horn arrangements. It contrasts the darker nature of ‘Raiz’ as a “slowburner”, even with it still being so lively. The penultimate ‘Amizade’ and its lackadaisical bossa vibes are maybe not the most lasting inclusion on the record, but it certainly sets up the final punch of the closer ‘A Cor do Meu Sonho’ nicely.
Curió Curió should be encouragement enough to any artists who need a pick-me-up. This is your sign to throw caution to the wind, get a little weird, merge styles, find like-minded collaborators, go big, challenge yourselves. It’s actually starting to sound like a bit of a cliché, but in these increasingly deceptive times, it pays dividends to reject artifice. ‘Curió Curió’’s effervescence, the sonic and thematic stability from one track to the next, the incredibly danceable tangibility and infectiousness, it all makes this a terribly difficult one to miss in the crowd. If you listen to nothing else this year, make this your album. I’ll be spending ample time getting familiar with it, and once you lay your eyes on it, I dare you not to do the same.
Dan Will Review 