Burn

The Queen of Make-out Songs Strikes Again

Sitti
My Bossa Nova (Warner)

Sitti’s double platinum debut album, Bossa Cafe, supposedly soundtracked many a make-out session. And it looks like this, her second proper studio album, is going to soundtrack many, many more.

My Bossa Nova is a lot less bossa than its title leads you to believe. This, believe it or not, is actually a good thing. Here, Sitti interprets well-known radio-friendly tunes that Filipinos have grown up with, bossa-flying tracks from pop and acid jazz. It’s a rather ambitious project, given the wide range and the universal success of the artists whose songs she sings, one that she pulls off with a grace and charm not many artists can muster.

For example, Everything But The Girl’s “Cross My Heart” lends itself surprisingly well to the bossa beat, with Sitti’s cool voice complementing bossa’s semi-fast tempo. It’s a good interpretation of a pop jazz classic that might bring a tear to the eyes of those who grew up in the 80s. The same goes for Basia’s “Time and Tide,” where Sitti makes an already easy listening track even easier to listen to. The song gives her a chance to depart from her lilting soprano and show people just how strong her voice really is–thankfully, without resorting to the vocal acrobatics that many artists nowadays mistake as a sign of good singing.

Sitti also covers The Style Council’s “My Ever-Changing Moods,” which she says is the song she enjoyed working on the most because of the freedom it afforded her. This rendition has her scatting, a daring move for such a seemingly “safe” musical artist, evidence of Sitti’s musical growth and her willingness to experiment for the sake of her craft. And while no one can match the beauty and power of Bono’s original rendition of the U2 classic “With or Without You,” Sitti delivers a good enough interpretation, though one wonders if the track should have been bossa-fied in the first place.

A surprisingly interesting track is Sitti’s version of “2 Become One.” Even Sitti expressed her doubts when she found out that she was to record this song but to her delight, it worked. Her version is solemn and dreamy, a more grown-up, less playful version than the Spice Girls original. It’s the least bossa of her tracks, but that’s okay for two reasons: first, to fully bossa-fy this particular song would make the listener want to blow her brains out, and two, it gives Sitti the chance to show that she doesn’t have to be confined to one genre.

Some people may prefer the “purity” of her first album, but fans, as well as folks who appreciate well-made covers, will gravitate towards My Bossa Nova. It’s a very–to use a Tagalog word–malamig na album, one that you’ll listen to over and over.