Cristiano Varisco - 2015 - Lucia McCartney

(43:20;Viajandao Records)

‘Lúcia McCartney’  was the third album in three years from the trio of Cristiano, bassist Jefferson Ferreira and drummer Davi Machado, released in 2015. This album is somewhat unusual in that while it is instrumental it is also a concept, based on the 1969 novel by Brazilian author Rubem Fonseca, which tells the story of a prostitute who is also a fan of The Beatles. Interestingly, although he wrote novels and short stories throughout his life (winning multiple awards) it was not actually his career, as he was in the police, reaching the heights of police commissioner, one of the highest ranks in the civil police of Brazil. Within the booklet it says the music is inspired by the book, but the expectation is that the listener will know the story and therefore be able to understand what sections are inspired by what part of the story as Cristiano brings together music to provide the soundtrack, but with no knowledge of that it is somewhat harder for the average listener.

However, what is obvious is that there are many stages and styles as we move through the piece which is overtly more South American in flavour than the previous release. Opener “Pinhal”, which is just 30 seconds in length, immediately sends us into a carnival atmosphere with very quick guitar and then from here on in we are taken on a journey of different styles, which at times can be quite dark and overpowering. Even if I had not known this was based on a book, I would have understood it was telling a story as it moves and shifts all the time. I am sure that anyone who is familiar with the novel will get a great deal from this as we move through Samba, Brazilian rock, funk, fusion, prog and so much more in the 19 songs which are a total of 33 minutes in length. This is bright and intriguing, with more layers than the last with some keyboards here and there as we get taken on a musical journey where those of us who are new to this will find quite exciting as we move through the unknown. This is a coming together of sound and literature, and I have found myself quite intrigued and have a distinct feeling that I am going to be seeking out an English language version of this so I can then read it and get more from the album itself.

Until then this is yet another really interesting release from Cristiano, Davi and Jefferson. They released three albums in three years and since then I do not know what has been going on, with Discogs just detailing one more release, a one-track cassette from 2020, but given these three albums I am somewhat surprised as I would expect there to be far more. Given that OOB were behind the digital release of ‘Aline’ possibly they will pick up on these others as well, but if not then it is a case of grabbing the physical if you see them as they are both very enjoyable indeed.     

Kev Rowland, April 2024

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