Céu has a cool, sensual, laidback voice that provides an instant reminder of Astrud Gilberto and the bossa nova movement that seduced the US in the early 60s. But she’s from São Paulo, the home of Brazilian electronica and fusion, and her skill in mixing Brazilian tradition with contemporary experiment has earned her four Grammy nominations. The last album, Caravana Sereia Bloom, was mysteriously brief and overly commercial, but Tropix is a return to form. Perfume do Invisível is a charming exercise in electro-bossa with a dash of reggae, A Menina e o Monstro matches languid vocals with an unexpected guitar work-out from Pedro Sá, while Camadas is a drifting, quirky echo of the Tropicália movement and Brazilian psychedelia, with strings hovering above the keyboards. The crooned, English-language Chico Buarque Song is an unashamed stab at the global pop market and less original, but this is still an impressive comeback.
