Bandcamp Pick of the Week: PLUMA - Merry-Go-Round Magazine

It’s our Bandcamp Pick of the Week, featuring the visceral hyper R&B fusion of PLUMA’s NÃO LEVE A MAL!

PLUMA album cover

PLUMA – NÃO LEVE A MAL

Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Sophisti-Pop, Jazz

Favorite Tracks: “Corrida!,” “Jardins,” “Sem Você”

There is a splash of colorful delight when you head into PLUMA’s debut album, NÃO LEVE A MAL. Before this, the Brazilian quartet had been testing the waters for a couple of years, with Mais do QUE EU SEI FALAR in 2020 and REVISITAR in 2021 showcasing their blend of twirling jazz melodies, psychedelic pop textures, and pristine R&B vocal touches that overall creates a sweet and poppy musical display. These elements continue to persist within NÃO LEVE A MAL, although treated in a way that only emphasizes more gleeful quality to the table.

Within this record, PLUMA continues their path into kneading a lot of influences across jazz, R&B, neo-psychedelia, and sophisti-pop, but it is clear that they have taken the time to ensure there is something worth captivating to be heard within these songs. With the recording taking place in spontaneous moments during rehearsals, you can hear that lively flair in the record. Songs like “Corrida!” and “Plano Z” offer rapidly spirited drum work that speeds through swells of blissful synths and groovy basslines through the chorus, an upbeat twist that is smoothly transitioned by the subdued melodic touches. “Doce/Amargo” is an exhilarating disco pop cut, clearly defined by how the instruments play along as the funky bass licks, buzzy synths, and bubbling drum notes consistently perk up, with the horn lines adding into its charming melodic spin at the very end. “Sem Você” is a shuffling jam where the spacious mix allows the synth passages, bass licks, and vocal melodies to fill in with their quirky spark, just before Deekapz’s add some flavorful house beat to the fray.

That lively flair manages to show itself within the album’s more subdued moments, balancing out the uplifting songwriting refrains with the melancholic reflections. The sorrow of the title track expresses its emotions through chiming keys, minimal beats, and theremin-sounding synthesizer. “Jardins” presents its natural yearning through the gorgeous piano progressions, gracefully floating like wind. The faded acceptance of “Quanto Vai Ficar?” with its nimble bass progressions and relieved vocals glides into the soaring walls of synths that get more volume after every verse, emphasizing the strength used to move forward past old wounds. And the closer, “Sonar,” drifts off to a new horizon as the spacious synth pads, calming grooves, and sax passages are the driving force on wonderfully ending this colorful album.

From its feet-shuffling joys to its mirror-reflective sorrows, PLUMA can effectively portray those moods as their general melodic heft and genre touch-ups expanded and enhanced on their album. It might only be a debut album, but the striking refinement is worth the listen. Dive deep into its brilliance on Bandcamp.