Da Lata

The third solo album by Fernanda Abreu is centered in the concept Da lata (of the can): in the 1980's, a foreign ship in Rio's seacoast was approached by police and threw at the sea enormous quantities of marijuana, hermetically canned. The cans were collected by people at the beaches, and, according to the testimonies, the marijuana was of excellent quality. It gave birth to the Carioca slang Da lata, meaning good things. At the same time, a can is a cheap material, which Fernanda compared to Brazil's poverty, while she brings the counterpoint of massive electronics, apparently representing the international world Brazilians would like to live in. This could be one of the reasons for the huge success this record and its national tour achieved. The album brings mostly originals and Fernanda's danceable mix of funk, charm, hip-hop, rap, dance and other contemporary grooves, strongly reminiscent of the violent funk parties in the 1970's Carioca suburban neighborhoods. The announced contribution of the Carioca hills is timid (even being her extremely provincial about Rio, which is expressed in the best touristic terms), and mostly provided by the excellent Pernambucan percussionist Marcos Suzano, being the best example the samba-funk "Tudo vale a pena." Her soulless voice is helped by vigorous programmed percussion and active electronics, pervasive throughout. The lyrics continue puerile: "sua pobreza é quase mito" ("[Rio], your poverty is almost a myth"). A danceable album, competent at that - just that.