Clareia vinyl

When she made her debut on Far Out way back in 2003, Sabrina Malheiros was hailed as the queen of "nu-bossa" - a contemporary, nu-jazz era update of vintage Brazilian bossanova that blended the best of the past and present. Interestingly, on Clareia - her first album for six years - Malheiros has chosen to avoid contemporary thrills in favour of a set of songs inspired by the "golden age" of Brazilian music (that's the '70s and early '80s). In practice, that means doffing a cap to rich and hazy, jazz-funk influenced boogie ("Celebrar", "Sol Ceu E Mar"), languid sunshine disco ("Renescera"), gentle bossa and samba-soul. Naturally, Malheiros's sublime vocals take centre stage, guaranteeing an eyes-closed dreaminess throughout.