Desassossego

Desassossego (Restlessness) is the second album by Matilde Cid, a fado singer-songwriter from Estremoz, east of Lisbon. Puro, Cid’s first album (2019), was nominated for Best Fado Album at the 2020 Portuguese PLAY Music Awards. Fado ballads, with their distinctive soulful passion, have enjoyed broader worldwide popularity in recent years, largely thanks to Portuguese superstar Mariza.

An impressive line-up of musicians join Cid on this album, including guitarists Bernardo Couto, Luís Guerreiro, Bernardo Saldanha and Francisco Gaspar, as well as pianist Manuel Oliveira, violinist Malu Garcia, Argentinian Martín Sued on bandoneón and Brazilian singer-songwriter Fred Martins. The pared-down instrumentation gives each of the 13 tunes a deceptively simple tone, never overwhelming Cid’s nuanced vocal delivery. From the jaunty ‘Porquês (Fado Sem Pernas)’, the album builds up in intensity, ending with the hymn-like a cappella ‘A Noite’. It feels as if we’re being taken on an intimate journey, guided by love: wishful, wistful, hidden or secret. As Cid herself reveals, “I have poured a bit more of myself into it… it’s life sung.”

So, to follow the pouring analogy, if Desassossego were a wine, think lightly carbonated vinho verde, rather than tawny port (maybe more like Mariza, if she’ll forgive the metaphor). All in all, an emotionally quenching musical experience.