No Reino Dos Afetos 2

Album review

From the very first track, "Te amar eterno," No Reino dos afetos 2 evokes early '70s Marvin Gaye, but if he was on holiday in Brazil. This second album from Brazilian Bruno Berle is a  warm, gentle wave of love transformed into music with a rolling groove and a voice singing about gods and goddesses… At the time of his debut in 2022, Berle explained how he was on a quest to find true beauty. It's safe to say he found it, and kept it. No Reino dos afetos 2 is both cool and clever—easy to listen to, but difficult to define. With melodic and rhythmic foundations that honor the traditions of MPB (Música popular brasileira/Popular Brazilian Music), the album is also highly eclectic. A cover of American outsider Arthur Russell demonstrates how the Brazilian artist is among the freest and most inventive on the scene. Bruno Berle and his accomplice, Batata Boy, create music that is never dragged down by the weight of history. It is characterized by kaleidoscopic micro-arrangements that whisper and sparkle, leaving the listener guessing rather than imposing themselves. Everything is soft, elegant, hazy and clear all at once, even in the psychedelic and groovier moments. One key difference from its predecessor is that there's hardly any guitar here, replaced by keyboard sounds and interwoven rhythms. No Reino dos afetos 2 sounds as if it was recorded on a beach, or perhaps even in the water, with a clear horizon far away from the weight of the world. The tracks are short, not hanging around for long enough to become even slightly boring, with each one leaving us wanting more. But Bruno Berle is clever enough to drop his secret hit "Tirolirole" in at the end, a track we'll be humming all summer long. Qobuzissime! © Stéphane Deschamps/Qobuz