Various Brazilian Live Affair Volume 4

• Words: Jesse Terry
• Label: Far O

For sexy, you can't really go wrong with swirling Fender Rhodes, sultry Portuguese vocals, a light bossa beat and strings. That's good news for this compilation, which, thanks to Patricia Marx's "E O Meu Amor Vi Passar," starts off on exactly the right note. It's also got a great mix of classic masters (e.g. Marcos Valle, Joyce) and up-and-comers. For all its progressive electronic sounds, BLA has a legit base in tradition, as a few of the tracks are dug up from secret Brazilian vaults. It's a mostly solid compilation that's more uptempo than down, and that relies on percussion, violins and breezy vocals to sort out the melancholy in your life.