French-Brazilian artist La Clara Sofia brings a taste of South America to these pages with her new EP, Desemboca. She creates a form of alternative pop that brightens up the senses, making for something rather unique within the modern music industry! Desemboca is La Clara Sofia’s first EP release, making it sound all the more impressive! As always, a full stream can be found at the bottom of this review if you like what you read here!
By Jane Howkins
Tudo Que Tu opens things up nicely, introducing the listener to La Clara Sofia’s alternative form of pop music. Latin rhythms play around in the background, using an intriguing sense of percussion that is unlike anything else out there at the moment. The vocals are fantastic too, singing the Portuguese lyrics in a sultry manner, alongside the pretty acoustic guitar melodies that arise on occasion.
Ternura has a bit more of a modern pop sound, although it’s still remarkably different from most mainstream pop music. The beat is simply infectious, seeing La Clara Sofia utilise her vocals in a gorgeous way over the top, adding another rhythmic component into the mix. It sounds pretty minimalist at first, but there’s actually a lot more going on here than first meets the eye!
Chiquita takes Desemboca in an entirely different direction – it’s almost entirely acapella, seeing La Clara Sofia’s vocals truly shine through. She layers her voice to create something really rhythmic, before the instrumentation kicks in properly towards the end. It’s an interesting piece and one that acts as a good middle section for the record.
Sopros opens with a groovy melody, as the drums and bass slink around in the background, creating something almost eerie sounding. The lead vocals are almost whispered at times, with a slew of backing vocals appearing once again to create a variety of textural effects. This might just be my favourite song on Desemboca!
Closing the EP out nicely is Odoya – one of the funkiest songs here. The bass sounds really awesome, having a prominent sound that will get stuck in your head straight away. It speeds up after a while, as the percussion dances around it in lovely style. It take a while for the vocals to kick in, but when they do, they’re incredibly strong, displaying a fantastic range.
Desemboca won’t be for everyone, but those willing to take the plunge and try something different may get a kick out of La Clara Sofia’s music!
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