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Street Mission, 2019
8/10
A Portuguese artist with a penchant for folk-rock ideas, Marinho delivers an impressive debut album here, with a poetic and intimate display of vulnerable and forthright song craft.
“Intro” starts the listen soft and wistful with a dreamy setting and restrained, pretty vocals, and “I Give Up And It’s Ok” follows with a playful jangle in the singer-songwriter template that embraces pop ideas.
Elsewhere, “Not You”, with Monday, unfolds with a soothing quality that’s full of mystery in its jazzy haze, while “Window Pane” illustrates skilled acoustic guitars in a fuller display of melodic folk-rock that’s so well done it alone is worth the price of admission.
Near the end, “Freckles” delivers an agile take on indie-rock with fantastic singing, and “Outro” exits the listen with a raw offering of gorgeous and bare execution.
Marinho didn’t have the easiest childhood, and she uses her past to create a moving, cinematic and introspective journey of sublime beauty on this stunning first record.
Travels well with: Buck Meek- Buck Meek; River Whyless- Kindness, A Rebel