Critic's evaluation
The idea of an ideal debut album had been on Lori's mind for three years. An Italian-Brazilian singer based in São Paulo (SP), she has been building her career in the independent music scene since 2018 with the single Entregue. Today, in the last quarter of 2023, she finally takes a big step in her career by announcing Cuore Aperto, her debut album and successor to the EP Vênus Em Virgem.
A purplish smoke rises from the ground, as if the ground beneath the adventurer's feet were sweating. With this mystical landscape, little can be seen of the horizon, but it is still possible to feel the sweetly synthetic flavor as the sound takes on an epic body. Through Gabriel Nascimento's masterful performance, Roxo Profundo (Intro) is conducted in such a way as if it were presenting the true protagonist in a dazzling, classical waltz. Then a sweet voice in its metallic tone, but with a firm spirit, completes the melodic scope. It's Lori transforming Roxo Profundo (Intro) into a surprising dramatic plot about self-worth and the effect of an abusive relationship on the polishing of an essence that is still pure with suffering and disappointment. It's a warning, a desperate warning to anyone who feels trapped, pressured and short of their freedom to come and go. It's the guilt of submission arriving too late for the body, but not for the soul, which has eternity to live in full emotional freedom.
The sound is of an acidic, synthetic sweetness that, with its synth-pop, manages to recreate the seventies ambience of nightclubs. Narrated by a high-pitched, almost shrill voice, the song has a mixture of casualness and a slight impression of containing a sampled vocal line. Evolving into house music, MD DM ME is structured around overlapping vocals in an urban night scene surrounded by the consumption of LSD, perfume and ecstasy. It's a song with an apology for female masturbation, which incites the intensity of endless fun and also promotes an inexhaustible and unsettling sense of arousal because it's so libidinous that it's even slippery. MD DM ME is the freedom of one night's passion, of letting go. Carefree and horny.
Very different from the protection against the unconscious seen in MD DM ME, Lori is now downcast, pensive and in an almost feverish state of melancholy. With nasal tones reminiscent of Anitta's, the singer exposes her maximum fragility in Insegura, a kind of confession thrown to the winds as a form of venting. This is where issues of assuming a false, empowered personality meet the need to prove oneself strong in a world full of brutality. Insecure is a collection of signs that are either denied or not perceived by the people around her, but which indicate a conflicting situation that reveals an emotional illness that can be fatal.
It's a mixture of synth-pop with hints of soul thanks to the timidly swinging intro, but with a consistent body, introduced by Noedir Ferrara's bass. With a dance base, Vai Ser Melhor? seems to be a continuation of MD DM ME, because while in the latter the protagonist was immersed in cutting suffering, in the former she is already adorned with considerable strength to fight to improve her emotional state and to overcome life's obstacles. In the company of Natália Carreira's slightly deep and unapologetically sensual voice, Vai Ser Melhor? still carries a kind of danger for the soul as it deals with the harmful effects of rejection on the individual. Dealing with insecurity, low self-esteem and a lack of self-confidence can be a bomb in everyday life, but it's these steps that strengthen the emotional. It's no wonder that, even drunk on pain, the character continues to fight for the continuity of life and the hope of a better destiny.
Soft, comforting and with sensual undertones, it's capable of recreating the ambience of Eu Te Devoro, a single by Djavan. Much of this is possible thanks to the organic presence of Lucas Carrasco's guitar, which transforms the song into a harmonic mix of MPB, soft rock and soul. Between overlapping vocals and a cozy velvet, Lori makes Prison Of My Mind a work that talks about overcoming, about disappointment and about a wounded heart. Although she continues to nurture her love for the person responsible for these heartbreaking emotions, the lyrical character finds herself on the verge of feeling, living with and understanding all the feelings that come with turning the page on a disharmonious relationship.
It's like entering a fantasy world, but with a distant gaze, as if, somehow, you were only observing that scene of supernatural beauty. Driven by the synthetic softness entangled with a Latin rhythmic base from reggaeton, the rhythmic-melodic atmosphere manages to bring to the listener stylistic memories related to songs like Natiruts Reggae Power, single by Natiruts, and Shape Of You, single by Ed Sheeran, Me Dói, Boy is an invitingly danceable song. However, its lyrical plot has slightly darker touches as it presents the story of a character immersed in a possessive relationship and ruled by indecision, factors that block his sense of freedom and self-worth. It's no wonder that, between Matias' slightly gravelly timbre and FBC also bringing his other vision of the same context, the most striking line of Me Dói, Boy is “eu não quero mais te ver, vou seguir com a minha vida".
The smoke from the recently extinguished fire shows the chaos, but it also shows the silhouette of a woman. Her face is tired, but her eyes are lively and imbued with a contagious exhortation of resistance and strength. In the midst of her torpor, the character in Me Adoro (interlúdio) experienced a process of self-worth with the arrival of an individual who stirred her emotions. He taught her to love herself to the extent necessary to know and be able to love others too. True overcoming not only of insecurity, but also of a stubborn inferiority complex.
After a narrative in literary style, the song begins to take on epic airs that evolve into a dramatic ambience, in which the guitar's sonorous sound is vaguely reminiscent of the aesthetics of flamenco. Lori's high voice makes Vieni a romantic tenor, as dramatic as an opera. A passionate opera of a soul open to love, to passion, to the purest and most sincere romance, but also a spirit desperate for acceptance, affection and a sense of usefulness towards others.
Provocative and sensual not only because of its lyrical interpretation, but also because of the drum beat designed by Nascimento's production, Disco Time Pt. 1 also has a striking, full-bodied bass groove, while it is governed by well-defined falsetto that exudes an ecstatic libido. Disco Time Pt. 1 is as if passion took the form of the effect of LSD for its intoxicating numbness, but also cocaine for its sensations of vitality and vivacity. A sexy interlude that, out of pleasure, awakens an even greater interest in life.
Its beginning is almost Disney-esque in its epic drama. Returning to the synth-pop and synthetically danceable, seventies ambience of MD DM ME, Popstar, in its maturation process, presents a singer with a raspy, breathy vocal. It shows a character imbued with a false sense of self-confidence in order to master the art of conquest. A solar soul who wants, through the arts, to be the center of attention and the object of lust.
Velvety, soft, contagious and politely sensual. This is how Disco Time Pt. 2 presents itself to the listener: with an R&B prelude wrapped in a sexy, whispering narrative. With touches of funk, Disco Time Pt. 2 may sound like another Cuore Aperto song about passion, but here, that passion is not just for a human figure, but also for the urban environment, for the big city night. All with an instigating and inciting sense of freedom.
Despite being immersed in a numbing atmosphere, the cadence and interpretation of the first words can recall, in the listener's mind, the initial lyrical verses brought by Bruno Boncini in Cala Tua Boca Na Minha, a song by Malta. Choro Na Cama is the sensitivity of the lyrical protagonist exposed in a completely transparent way, a demonstration of emotional fragility and the strengthening, as shown in Vieni, of the need for affection. The realization that the other person loves her is a fact that makes her emotional and give herself body and soul to passion in a clear exhortation of the purity of heart and emotional hypersensitivity that form the character's identity. Choro Na Cama is gratitude for the reciprocity of love.
It tastes like a nostalgic and gratifying interlude. It's possible, from Lori's interpretation, even to glimpse her face bathed by two that meet to form a single, bulging vein of emotional water. Nostalgic in character, Al Mare is a work capable of making anyone feel touched by its emotional and nostalgic plot which, as well as highlighting the father-daughter relationship, shows an individual looking for their safe haven, their place to call their own, something that makes them feel they belong. At the same time, Al Mare is steeped in metaphors that exhort the antithesis between the need for independence and insecurity.
The audio is intimate, real and homely. It comes with notes of nostalgia, but also of concern for the recipient of the message, illustrating affection through care. Its sound background makes the prayer intoned by the unidentified character a true mantra that brings calm, re-energization and a sense of welcome. In this context, it's as if Quero Ir Com Você follows in the same aesthetic footsteps as Al Mare, an observation that is amplified by the sweetness of the lyrical interpretation and the drama of the melismatic vocal overlays. Of all the songs on Cuore Aperto, Quero Ir Com Você is the most touching, the most intimate, the most delicate and the most autobiographical, featuring a character who lived a period of her life in pain because she couldn't find herself, because she didn't accept herself. However, from the moment she realizes, understands and sees herself, there is the exhortation of desire for the other to accept her as she is. Quero Ir Com Você is the soundtrack of discovery and rediscovery. It is the opening of the eyes and the peaceful and relieving self-recognition through reflection in the mirror.
The beginning is synthetic while honing synth-pop concepts. Mixing notes of house music and even disco music, the song has a narrative initially carried by a deep voice. It's soul.za amplifying the song's exciting and energetic base. Danceable and with mixtures of subtle soft rock brought in by the guitar's digital sonar, Introestelar 1.0 is love, it's the ardor of passion, it's surrender. It's libido. It's the ordeal. The track is like the fight for LGBT rights and respect based on love, a fight that, according to soul.za and Lori themselves, has no end.
It's danceable, lively, synthetic. It is able to recreate the ambience of the 70s with dexterity and the mastery to make the listener feel everything from the effects of narcotics like LSD and perfume launchers to the energy high from consuming amphetamines. Cuore Aperto is an album that hides its true north through attractive and sensual melodies.
While the listener can be amused and sometimes even aroused by the libidinous lyrical plots, the album is actually presenting a character hidden behind a shell of freedom, independence, empowerment and self-control. After all, in his ardently romantic vein, he is the portrait that Lori, perhaps unconsciously, wanted to leave between the lines.
Transitioning deftly between English, Italian and Portuguese, Cuore Aperto presents a character thirsting for acceptance, to be understood, loved, cherished and welcomed. It's an album that shows the romantic, dreamy, delicate and sincere essence of a person who, in the depths of his unconscious, is insecure and unable to recognize his own value. Someone immersed in the search for a place, whether physical or not, to feel like they belong.
The proof that Cuore Aperto has the dance side to hide this tone of agony at not being found is in the perfectly constructed antithesis between the songs Al Mare and Quero Ir Com Você. At the end of the day, they bring fragility disguised by the need for independence.
To be able to express all this detail and emotion, Lori teamed up with Nascimento and Kiim Venus. Together, the professionals synthesized the entire melodic, rhythmic and lyrical context to find the perfect sound synergy. That's how the album ended up with a clean but mixed look. After all, the listener can find house music, soul, funk, reggaeton, R&B, disco music, synth-pop, soft rock, tenor, opera and even flamenco.
Rounding off the technical scope is the cover art. Signed by Janaína Morena, the album faithfully represents the concept of romanticism and love so ingrained around its 15 songs. With a glowing heart replacing the body core, Lori shows all her feeling and emotion, as if she could be the solution to any and all world war clashes by pouring love around the world.
Released on 11/10/2023 in an independent way, Cuore Aperto is passion and romanticism. It's libido. It's drama dressed up as entertainment. The presentation of a character in search of self-understanding, while trying to deal with her insecurities and frailties. It's the desire to belong mixed with the need to be truly welcomed.
