Elza Soares review – thrilling sonic sci-fi from the queen of samba

 

"On Pra Fuder she purrs about the joys of sex over a riot of spiky, postpunk guitars and Moog basslines, like Eartha Kitt backed by Public Image Ltd. On Benedita she sings about a crack-addicted transsexual, performed as a duet with bearded actor Rubi Waf, while her band knit together spidery Gang of Four riffs and Afrobeat rhythms.

Even an old samba favourite, Bis – an encore that gets the Brazilians in the audience out of their seats and dancing in the aisles – is revisited as an icy slice of gothic funk, while Soares’s version of the old Elton Medeiros bossa nova Pressentimiento is taken down an octave and performed in a Grace Jones growl. "

read the review by John Lewis

Elza Soares review – thrilling sonic sci-fi from the queen of samba | Music | The Guardian: