Saudade

by Thievery Corporation

Overview

Coming off the paranoid and dark Culture of Fear, where Orwellian ideas and dub beats filled the speakers, Thievery Corporation do a severe about-face with Saudade, an album that embraces the bossa nova and Brazilian rhythms, and ups the organic material content of the group's output. Horns, strings, and nylon-string guitars are hired, rather than sampled, on an album where Thievery members Rob Garza and Eric Hilton play mostly guitar and bass. They also curate and produce, coming up with a fine set of wistful tunes and suitable, alluring singers when it comes to the former, but they come up a bit short when it comes to the latter. Vocalist Lou Lou Ghelichkhani is a wonderfully subdued siren who can deliver with all the breezy sway required for beautiful songs like "Decollage" and "Bateau Rouge," and yet the production is all strings and vocals up front as everything else falls toward the back, making these bossa nova recordings more "hot" than "warm." Leave a Caipirinha in the sun too long and it's the same kind of almost delicious, but with the same kid gloves being used on the mixing board during "Para Sempre," the sharp sonics actually help the up-and-sashaying performance from Elin Melgarejo. When Shana Halligan searches the "Depth of My Soul" on the not-so-bossa closer, the strolling bassline is punchy enough to drive home her pathos, and if there are Brazilian spy films, "Claridad" and vocalist Natalia Clavier are spot-on for their soundtracks. The woozy "Nos Dois" with Karina Zeviani ups the Thievery Corp content (nigh time production and notes that dissolve before they disappear) and suggests what could have been if Saudade better balanced its reverence and reverb. ~ David Jeffries

Product Details

Release Date:	03/29/2024
Label:	Primary Wave
UPC:	0792755858967
Rank:	24194

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Thievery Corporation   Primary Artist
Karina Zeviani   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Elin Melgarejo   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
LouLou Ghelichkhani   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Shana Halligan   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Natalia Clavier   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Roberto Santos   Percussion
Jeff Franca   Drums,Percussion
Frank Mitchell Jr.   Horn
Enea Diotaiuti   Keyboards
Eric Hilton   Bass
Federico Aubele   Bass,Guitar
Rob Garza   Guitar,Keyboards
Mike Lowery   Drums
Justin Parrott   Bass
Columbia Heights Ensemble   Strings
Mateo Monk   Guitar
Conrado Bokoles   Bass,Guitar

Technical Credits

Chris "Stone" Garrett   Engineer,Producer
LouLou Ghelichkhani   Composer
Joe Lambert   Mastering
Eric Hilton   Composer,Producer,Group Member
Greg Gordon   Vocal Engineer
Rob Garza   Composer,Producer,Group Member
Thievery Corporation   Producer
Natalia Clavier   Composer
Elin Melgarejo   Composer
The Count   Mixing
Karina Zeviani   Composer
Neal Ashby   Design,Art Direction