Customer Reviews

Serious

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have to start by saying that Da Lata's first album, "Songs From The Tin" is a wonderful album full of beautiful, lush songs. Although some consider Da Lata electronic music, the music on "Songs" sounds very organic. "Serious", on the other hand is overt electronic music with less of the nuance of their first effort. "Serious" is good enough, with a few exceptions I enjoyed most of the 10 songs (clocking in at less than 40min.).
It could be that for me "Songs From The Tin" is so perfect that "Serious" could not possibly live up. I would not go so far as to say that Da Lata suffered from a sophomore slump, although only time will tell.

I really agree with the previous reviewer. No Oli. No Liliana Chachian. And very little Nina Miranda. What do you get? Braziliance running out the door faster than Ronaldo chasing a loose ball. This is the outfits 3rd release, second full if you discount their remix project, and boy did they go in another direction. Sometimes I really hate it when that happens. I mean, I can't say it enough - what happened? Why? Songs From the Tin was a terrific cd. Liliana's voice was very rich and spirited, Patrick Forge's mixing was on point and getting stronger and Christian Franck - what can I say? He's a terrific musician and guitarist.

But here they seemed to have dropped the whole Brazilian vibe and have gone in a more African sounding direction. Then they go towards a more electronic sound instead of having live musicians. The sound seems forced and this just isn't as original. Which is okay if you're into that sort of sound. But it's a bit of a disappointment if you're a fan of the Smoke City and old Da Lata tracks... expecting to hear Franck on the guitar, pinpoint mixing and breathtaking vocals. I honestly picked this up the day it came out, pumped that it was coming out however couldn't review it - I too listened to it a few times trying to find something fantastic about it but... it's just not there. The song I enjoyed was "If U Don't Know", but that was the second shortest. I only hope they take a step back and return to their other sound.

I'd have to recommend against this if you're a "Songs From the Tin" fan or into Smoke City's "Flying Away". Da Lata does have a remix project but even there be warned, the sound is a bit different from Songs From the Tin (but still much much better than this). It features some pretty sweet cuts and original Da Lata remakes and takes like Ponteio, Golden and a remix to KV:5's (Marc Brown of Smoke City's other project) Lies & Untruths. On the flip side if you do enjoy this, you'd probably also enjoy the newest from Mo Horizons (think Foto Viva) cd titled "Mo' Horizons and the New Bohemiam Freedom".

I really enjoyed Da Lata's first cd so I thought I would take listen to "Serious", but opted to buy the Japan import because it contains four bonus tracks. I will admit, the overall sound of the cd was different than "Songs from the Tin", with the acception of a few tracks, maybe Patrick Forge and Chris Franck just wanted to try something a little different. The bonus tracks on the Japan import are, Golden (which is also on the Da Lata remixes album, so maybe it does'nt count), Change (Synth version), Serious (Seiji Remix), and Petropolis (sung by Nina Miranda with guitars and percussion performed by Chris Franck). Golden, Change, and Serious (Seiji Reimx) all have the same sound that flows throughout the cd, but Petropolis has more of a "Songs from the Tin" kind of vibe. The highlights of the cd for me were golden (import bonus track), if u don't know, distracted minds, and petropolis (import bonus track). If you can do without the bonus tracks or if you are new to Da Lata, then you should probably buy the domestic version, regardless, the songs on this cd (Domestic or Import) are definitely worth taking a listen.

Additionally, for those who did not like the musical direction of the this album, as opposed to the sounds and vibe of "Songs From The Tin", check out Trio De Lata's "Deep Water" on Multidirection 2 and "Beija Flor" which is featured on a couple of different compilations (Sun Sun Bonus, just to name one). There is also another Da Lata track, that I have not heard it yet, but if you are interested, "Ronco de Cuica" is featured on the Kyoto Jazz Massive tribute "For KJM" and the "10 Years Anniversary" cd. (Trio Da Lata is Patrick Forge and Christian Frank with Sharon Scott on vocals)

Whereas Da Lata's first album, Songs from the Tin, was a trip to Brazil, their second album, Serious, is an African safari. The lyrics and the rhythms now skew towards that continent, yet Da Lata still manage to make it sound both contemporary and modern. The underappreciated Jhelisa Anderson makes an appearance on "Reeling," a broken beat workout and on "Something," in a duet with Nina Miranda. The electronic percussion on Serious is much more pronounced, which undercuts the authenticity which made Songs from the Tin a standout. And while that's disappointing, the delicate instrumentation on "If U Don't Know" goes a long way in making up for that loss. Still an excellent album.

First off, 'Songs From The Tin' will forever be high on my list of CDs. That said 'Serious' follows it's predecessor musically and more so conceptually. First, as an open letter from the Third World to the Western World. Second, it's a representation of the genre-busting and cross-pollination that is the London music scene. The guest performers are perfect examples of both points. As for the complaint over the African sounds in the previous review, one only has to read history, listen to Brasilian music or even the first Da Lata album to hear that African rhythms make up Brasilian music. With that in mind, the album draws on the similarities between the two cultures. The bittersweet duet of Nina Miranda and Baaba Maal on "Distracted Minds" has Third World(Latin and African) voices questioning the existential priorities of the "civilized" Western world. While the brilliant Jhelisa(an American vocalist living in London) croons her open letter of reluctance to Blair and Bush over broken beats on 'Reeling'. Jhelisa and Nina team up to bring vocals reminiscent of Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 on 'Something', taking a stab at emotional and material consumption. The energetic rhythm of flute and beat on 'Firefly' has the listener running through some place wild and peaceful.Brasil is represented by Pedro Martin's vocals over a bossa nova track with intricate guitar work and a semi- beat box vocal to keep the rhythm. The production still blends the acoustic with the digital. 'Songs from Tin' (Yin) was an album reflecting the innocent, hopefull, folkloric aspects of Brasilian culture, Da Lata's follow up is a "Serious" (Yang) more tech-heavy, non compliant response to a post 9/11 world climate.Their objective is still the same- expand the musical blueprint and provide the soul with fresh honest music that unites. It's a great world CD or a great electronic CD......For those looking for more Liliana and Oli look for the Negrocan and Arakatuba albums. For Nina Miranda check out Smoke City and Arkestra One

The smoky, mysterious ambience of "Songs From The Tin" is completely gone. What appears to have happened here is that some entity-corporate or maybe (God forbid) the group-abandoned the sound in hopes of getting mainstream radio play and sales. This project has inane lyrics and unremarkable melodies. I listened to the disc several times to see if I just wasn't "getting it" but ultimately stuck with my first impression.

I was very happy to see another release from Da Lata and certainly want them to succeed as artists. But I'm sorry I paid full price for this CD without hearing the disc first. Maybe a change back to their previous direction for the next project?

The follow-up to their first album is pretty disappointing, or at least less elusive and alluring. The delicate balancing act of the "Songs From The Tin" set here gives way to a simpler, more clear-cut world-beat dance sound, it's okay, but fairly mundane by comparison. More geared towards the electronica club music crowd, and almost entirely skewed towards African influences, with the languid Brazilian touches set aside, this album seems more workmanlike than innovative or inspired. It's okay, I guess, but I found it to be a bit dull.