January 9, 2019
Taking Pains Listening Post 183. Duarte is a fado purist, making no concession to other genres, just Portuguese and acoustic guitars, bass and his sensitive, expressive voice. Literally and figuratively, he takes pains to be authentic as he explores the nuances of...
May 29, 2018
Natural Light Listening Post 152. Rather than linger over beautiful sunsets, our ancestors ran home at dusk, so fraught with danger and superstition was the night. Advanced societies tend to take light for granted. On her fourth album, Cuca Roseta shows a...
March 27, 2016
I Sing, Therefore I Am Listening Post 40. Fado means destiny. And for Carminho, destiny is fado, by nature and nurture. Her mother is a fado singer and her parents ran a popular Libson fado club; her sumptuous and nuanced voice soars without roaring and softens...
November 17, 2015
No-Hankie Fado Listening Post 21. Cuca Roseta’s third album has touches of fado’s traditional melancholy, but from the pace of her arrangements to the bounce in her voice, most of what it has is joy. It’s an embracing joy— while some fado artists temper their music...
September 8, 2015
Streetcar Named Desire Listening Post 11. Move over Judy Garland. The most captivating trolley song in 75 years has arrived on a 15-track album from Portugal’s leading male fado singer. Pica do 7 (7’s Conductor) tells of a shy woman who rides the Number 7 tram daily...
