Renowned on the international music scene since the early 2000s, ethereal-voiced Argentine vocalist
Florencia Ruiz made her U.S. debut with this hypnotic, richly textured collection, whose powerful emotional dynamics are driven by matching her exquisite Spanish vocals to a swirl of jazz, new age, classical, orchestral, and worldbeat influences.
Luz de la Noche (Light of the Night) is comprised of mostly short, several-minute thematic pieces that translate in English to such concepts as "We'll Enlighten" (the dramatic, sweeping opener "Albumbraremos"), "It Isn't" (the contemplative "No Está"), "Maybe" (the graceful vocal-acoustic guitar-violin trio "Por Ahi"), "Winter" ("Invierno," a haunting
Enya-like trip through the season), and "Childhood" (the folk-classical meditation "Niñez"). The singer also gives her wider audience a glimpse of where she's headed creatively by calling the next-to-last track "El Futuro, Flor" ("The Future, Flor"), which fluctuates between classical dreaminess and booming percussion, horn, and electric guitar-fired sections.
Ruiz's wild eclecticism might not appeal to purists who think Latin singers should focus on their indigenous music -- but she makes a compelling case for following a joyfully schizophrenic muse. ~ Jonathan Widran