The liner notes maintain that
Raio X places
Fernanda Abreu in the context of her musical generation, and her fourth album could well be a stab for critical credibility as she works with artists from the harder, hipper side of Brazil's new urban music. Her collaborators include critical favorites like
Lenine,
Chico Science & Nação Zumbi,
Herbert Vianna of the rock band Os Paralamas, and
Carlinhos Brown, and there is a mix supervised by
Soul II Soul's
Will Mowat. But speculation about motives aside,
Raio X succeeds in showcasing
Abreu's vocal versatility as she works through a broad range of sambas, ballads, and rock and funk material with command and conviction. On the traditional side,
Abreu goes back to roots with a full-fledged samba like "Aquarela Brasileira" and tips her hat in tribute to
Jorge Ben on his "Jorge de Capadócia." On the modern music world front, she joins the surdo drum and guitar thunder of
Chico Science & Nação Zumbi for "Rio 40 Graus." She duets with
Vianna on the 12-string guitar rock of "Um Amor, Um Lugar," and "Speed Racer" employs an almost blues-rock descending chord progression and plays lead guitar off strings. But
Abreu lives for the funk, whether it's taking the modern international road on "Garota Sangue Bom" (built on a sample of
George Clinton's "We Funk U2"), the homegrown minimal route on "Kátia Flávia," or the idiosyncratic lope of
Lenine's "Jack Soul Brasileiro." Her voice sounds smooth and sultry (a bit like
Andrea Echeverri of
los Aterciopelados) when she sings sambas and adeptly delivers rapid-fire rhythmic raps in Portuguese. If there were suspicions that
Fernanda Abreu was a one-dimensional dance diva,
Raio X puts them to rest, and it also serves as a pretty strong sampler of what's going on in Brazilian popular music of the post-tropicalia generation. ~ Don Snowden