Discreet, self-taught, with a will that is proof against obstacles and setbacks. These could be some of the hallmarks of Lau Noah, that is, Laura Cailà, a musician, singer and instrumentalist from Reus who now jumps to the first line of recordings with her second work, the self-released A dos. As the title indicates, it is a collection of nine duets, but what duets! Because what draws powerful attention is that, the protagonist being a singer very little known to the generalist fan, she finds complicity with Jorge Drexler, Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Jacob Collier, Salvador Sobral, Cécile McLorin Salvant or Chris Thile.
With a proposal that can be considered that of a singer-songwriter, Catalan music (based in New York for a decade) has managed to materialize its collaborative desires with artists of various types, since, in addition to those mentioned above, it has also joined forces with the singer Ángeles Toledano or the Israeli jazz pianist Shai Maestro. The great value is the harmony established between the performers who work in a conventional format without surprises, minimalist and with basic instrumentation – guitar and, sometimes, piano – and clear vocal prominence, although one of the most outstanding pieces is Lesser men would call it love, where Chris Thile shows off with the six strings. A work, in short, recorded in direct recording, overflowing with a connection that is not forged and of magic, like the intense Let Things Happen with Sílvia Pérez Cruz, or the addictive If a Tree Falls in Love with a River with Collier.
The versatile musician and artist from Cleveland disappoints with a mix of old and current sounds. Although the cuts where he puts pop touches in the production (like At the party with Pharrell Williams) breathe and transmit vibrations (WOW with A $ AP Rocky), in general Insano can cause a certain boredom.
The Londoners continue to pivot on spacious sound showcases, with the now unmistakable addition of Justin Young’s voice. On this occasion they distance themselves from their previous Back in Love City and Planet of the Youth and return to sounds and attitudes (joy and enjoyment to share) more inclined to pop, as shown in hits like Heartbreak Kid.
With the guarantee of the leadership of Suso Giménez, the Valencians give attractive shape to one of the peaks of their career (which began in 2006 with Finland). Based as always on splendid lyrics, the dozen songs also exude sonorous warmth, with varied guitar prominence (Plain steel) and echoes of Anglo-Saxon pop-folk.
