The Bottom Line
Sara Tavares really cuts right to it in Balance, her debut album. There's no nervous first-timer stuff here, it's truly a beautiful, fun and refreshing album. Tavares proves herself both as a songwriter and a vocalist, and has shown early that in the long-term, she is a force to be reckoned with.
Pros
- Stunning songwriting and vocal abilities from Tavares
- Fun multilingualism, evocative of Manu Chao
- Exciting but relaxed genre-blending
Cons
- None
Description
- Guest artists include Melo D., Boy Ge Mendes and Ana Moura
- Beyond Tavares lyrical and vocal skill, her guitar-playing is top-notch
- Fans of Cesaria Evora and Manu Chao will certainly agree on this one
Guide Review - Sara Tavares - Balance
Sara Tavares is a Portuguese singer-songwriter of Cape Verdean descent. The most famous Cape Verdean, of course, is Cesaria Evora, who is known for quiet, throaty ballads, but while fans of Evora will enjoy Tavares' music, Tavares is quite different. Her music is mellow, sultry and smooth, but much further-reaching genre-wise than Evora's.Like many African and European musicians of the younger generation , Sara Tavares (who is 27) is not afraid to dance through genres or even languages without hesitation. For her, it is all about Balance, hence the title of the record (which is pronounced bal-ahn-SAY, by the way).
Balance skips neatly between sexy jazz ballads ("Dam Bo"), upbeat Afro-pop ("Poka Terra") and even smooth reggae ("Planeta Sukri") without missing a beat. Tavares is a wise and clever poet, and her inter-lingual wordplay resembles that of Manu Chao. The album is breezily warm and eminently listenable.
March 21, 2006
