How one takes to the most jarring and immediately apparent feature of Encarnado, the solo debut of Juçara Marçal, will likely be the single most determinative factor in whether the listener enjoys it or not. This is of course, the complete lack of a rhythm section throughout the entire LP - 41 minutes with no drums or bass. This is an aspect of this record that, on it's own, is quite odd, but when you factor in that this is an album coming out of Brazil - a country that is known for it's danceable samba and breezy bossa nova rhythms, it makes the absence of a rhythm section even more glaringly apparent. Despite the fact that at times, the minimalism can give the album quite a skeletal feel, Marçal and the band she has enlisted to accompany her beautiful singing can do so much - sound so grand - with so little, that the listener could be forgiven for forgetting that at it's core, Encarnado is a brilliant and experimental conversation between, in most cases two or three - at times four, instrumentalists on each track and one vocalist. Although there are things like the bleeps and bloops on "E o Quico?" and Marçal herself playing kalimba on the sweet "Canção pra ninar Oxum", more than anything, a large bulk of the album's sound consists of two guitars.
The guitar work is key to this albums' unique, and potentially polarizing sound. The interaction, and in many cases non-interaction of the electric guitars of Kiko Dinucci and Rodrigo Campos is consistently fascinating throughout. Those looking for long, epic solos will be disappointed, because on this album, repetition is key. Dinucci and Campos generally serve as a great counterpoint to each other, with each guitar playing intriguing, often stiff, math-rock-ish, riffs that are completely distinct and at times seemingly disconnected from each other. The guitarists don't shy away from effects either, occasionally giving their instruments more echo or distortion for the album's more rough moments sonically.
Another instrument that at times plays an integral role here is the rabeca, a bowed, violin-like instrument that is often used in Brazilian forró music. The rabeca player, Thomas Rohrer, uses the instrument to great effect on Encarnado, with his bowed tremolo giving a sophisticated air of mystery to the tango-like atmosphere of "Pena Mais Que Perfeita". Rohrer's work is also invaluable throughout "Odoya", which is the introduction to the heavy "Ciranda do Aborto". Rohrer's tremolo brings tension and an ominous mood to the former and the longer, more pronounced bow-strokes give a sense of drama and intensity to the latter. His talents also stand out in "E o Quico?", where the rabeca goes from operating freely and unpredictably within the electronically tinged freak-out located in the middle of the track, to taking center stage by closing out the song with frantic playing.
Thiago França, who also participates in the "freak out" of "E o Quico?" is the instrumentalist who makes the least appearances here. França contributes by way of his saxophone ("Damião") and pocket-piano playing ("E o Quico?"). The sax operates as if it was a guitar throughout the majority of "Damião", playing a short, stiff musical phrase that is repeated throughout the song and eventually built off of and countered by the guitars. On the other hand, his pocket-piano contributions to "E o Quico?" are noticeably less calculated. The piano repeats notes that are close together yet seem randomly played, appropriately adding to the chaotic, bizarre feeling that is further emphasized by Marçal's vocal performance, which grows increasingly rapid and eccentric throughout the track.
Even with her occasional eccentricities, Marçal is the one thing on Encarnado that may have the power to draw in those initially put off by how unconventional it is. She is really a fantastic singer, with a gorgeous voice that is sure to please fans of other Brazilian singers, such as Gal Costa - albeit this "sure" applies more in musical settings unlike this record. Despite the quality of her voice, which has a tone great for more conventional recordings, such as Padê, a samba record she put out with Dinucci, she doesn't shy away from more harsh moments, showing that she can sing with grit, force, and even scream on tracks like "Não Tenha Ódio No Verão" and "Ciranda do Aborto".
The juxtaposition, what many might hear as a negative - conflict - between the singing and the guitar work is one of the features that will keep the fans of Encarnado coming back for more. Sure, the guitar work may switch up for choruses and verses, but you will never, ever find Marçal and the guitars completely in synch. Often, Marçal's is singing as if this album is just a typical MPB affair, when the reality is that the quirky and math-rock inspired instrumentation is often anything but. The result is a lyrically morbid mixture of MPB values and experimentation that works surprisingly well.
Encarnado is an album that consistently explores themes of death and loss. The very first lines sung on the album address death directly: "Não diga que estamos morrendo/Hoje não" (Don't say that we are dying, not today), with the last lines on that track, "Velho Amarelo", passionately expressing where she wants to die "Quero morrer num dia breve/Quero morrer num dia azul/Quero morrer na América do Sul" (I want to die in a short day, I want to die in a blue day, I want to die in South America). The death of love is also present, shown in the aggressively sung "Presente de Casamento", where Marçal, describes a marriage as "Nós dois deitados/No meio do incêndio/Queimando em silêncio" (Both of us laying there/in the middle of the fire/burning in silence). Death personified is even covered, with "A Velha Capa Preta" opening up with lines that describe Death's activities:
E a morte anda no mundo (and Death goes around the world)/Vestindo mortalha escura (dressed in a dark shroud)/E procurando a criatura (searching for the creature)/Que espera condenação (that awaits damnation)/Quando ela encontra um cristão (when she [Death] finds a christian)/Sem vontade de morrer (without the will to die)/E ele implora pra viver (and the christian begs to live)/Mas ela ordena que não (but Death orders - "no" [the christian dies])
Encarnado is extremely well written, with Marçal only contributing to "Odoya", a song on which she embraces her Afro-Brazilian, specifically, Yoruba, heritage, by singing in the language. The rest of the songwriting of the record was handled by the two guitarists, França, other Brazilian musicians such as Romulo Fróes, Siba Veloso, Alice Coutinho, Gui Amabis, Regis Damasceno, Itamar Assumpção and, fittingly, Marçal also interprets a tune from the legendary samba, tropicália and MPB experimentalist, Tom Zé ("Não Tenha Ódio No Verão"). Ironically ending with a calm, acoustic guitar played samba ("João Carranca"), Encarnado is a stunning achievement that, by it's experimental nature, fits into the legacy of what musicians like Tom Zé, Os Mutantes and members of the vanguarda paulista accomplished: it's music without fear to turn the norms on their head, that at the same time, undeniably pulls from deeply rooted Brazilian musical tradition.
