Matheus Livio - Em Nome do Sempre
From Porto Alegre, Brazil, lives a talented and humble artist named Matheus Livio. Released under his birth name, his debut Em Nome do Sempre does an exquisite job at expressing depression and having one sympathise with Livio. While none of elements are unique, they are sophisticated and well thought out. Suffice to say, there’s something timely about the minimalistic, low-fi folk approach.
The opening two tracks, Constelação de Lyra and O Nome, bathe in their depression, both warmly inviting and subtly heart-wrenching. Torre de Babel’s lyrical approach is lazily delivered for the most part, until Livio lets the torment flow toward the end, saving the standard progression. Espelho exceeds due to its ambience, not its repetitive and familiar guitar plucking. Lastly, while Quando Deuses Pisavam na Terra, O Espírito do Fogo, Tsukuyomi, Momentos Iniciais and Em Nome do Fim e Início are all distinct and gorgeously strummed, they are all disappointingly shorty.
While the overall experience makes up for its lack of innovation, there are a few shortcomings that lower the recommendation. First, the album is far too short, and doesn’t have enough variation. Secondly while one can’t fault the artist for the lack of production, there’s little excuse for the lack of polish in the mixing department. Furthermore, within these compositions there’s so much room for synthetics or other acoustics. The artist can only get away once with making an album as such; it’s simple, but expressive, and comes with a huge recommendation.
Above Average
Listen to it here:
Matheus Livio - Em Nome do Sempre
