Mariza: Mundo review – relaxed, personal album from fado master

When she played in the UK in March, Mariza announced that her next album of new material – her first in almost five years – would have “a different concept”. It’s true, but it’s remarkable not for her choice of songs, rather the quality of her singing. Her last set, Fado Tradicional, was over-declamatory and failed to do justice to her highly emotional live performances. Now comes an album dominated by “musical fado” – in which different songs are given the traditional treatment – and her approach is transformed. From the thoughtful Rio de Mágoa to the delicate opening to Paixão, this is a more relaxed, personal and intimate Mariza. The songs range from the sturdy fado classic Anda O Sol Na Minha Rua (made famous by Amália Rodrigues) through to Argentinian tango; a lilting, a keyboard-backed song from Cape Verde, partly sung in English; and fado-tinged Portuguese ballads. All are transformed by that remarkable voice.