Avante Delírio

Born in Belém, raised in Fortaleza, based in São Paulo, Saulo Duarte claims to be an exponent of country-style guitar music from northern Brazil known as guitarrada. While the basic elements of this are jolly strumming, foot-tapping beats and dexterous Shadows-style picking, Duarte wraps lots of layers around it – especially horns, quirky percussion and cosmic synths. While this arguably enriches the genre, it also pulls it away from its core appeal, which is a festive, rural spirit. Duarte's lyrics, too, have the angsty (delirious, even) character of a rootless muso in urban exile rather than a reflective traveller.

The strongest tracks might actually be those in which Duarte's guitar is muted, and the rolling rhythms of bassist Zé Nigro and drummer Curumin, are allowed to come to the fore. Duarte, a seasoned session musician with artists including Céu, has previously released three albums with A Unidade. This debut under his own name, while blandly pleasant, lacks vitality as well as character, and sounds like the work of a musical magpie rather than a solo artist with a vision.