Dez Anos Depois contains Brazilian standards, several of which are some of the most covered songs of all time. Leão doesn’t look towards something new—her music sits meditating in the present to better appreciate the light play, the beauty, and the love it offers. Even the more obscure songs are precisely as dazzling as Jobin’s classic ‘Garota de Ipanema’. The arrangements are stripped-back to the point of being stripped-down, lounging naked behind the flawless vocals. On a haphazardly recorded venture, Leão carved out the kernel of Brazilian music from its husk. It is a distillation of the country’s musical output—the gentlest history lesson.
28/30
A favourite: ‘Fotografia’
100 words music reviews 