Manera Fru Fru, Manera

The roll call on Raimundo Fagner’s debut album is impressive enough, with Nara Leão guesting on two songs, and the involvement of Nana Vasconcelos, Gilberto Gil and Ivan Lins ensuring a certain sheen of association. But Fagner’s songs are lovely things – unprepossessing, informed by and positioned within MPB, but able to absorb creative lessons from the likes of tropicalia without those connections and experiments feeling forced. A lot of the charm is in the offhand drawl of Fagner’s voice, who makes singing seem effortless, something that just slides out of the mouth while you’re thinking of another matter entirely. It’s a collection of songs that hints at breeziness, but has a far sturdier core than you’d initially imagine.