Deolinda
Canção ao Lado

Strolling through the wide crowded streets of Lisbon's Baixa, through the tangled lanes of Alfama, or any city in Portugal, besides a disagreeable smell of codfish, you will definitely hear the notes of fado coming from an open window, an old record player, the lips of a housewife hanging clothes or from a decaying casa de fado.

By the fourth day of your stay, the compelled listening will make you want to throw yourself off the first miradouro you find or buy a Portuguese guitar to blend into the crowd and sing all your yearning.

Even today, fado is still an integral part of Portuguese life. But it is not just about saudade for the intense and poetic voices of the great fadistas of the past, above all the unforgettable Amália.

There are still those who keep the genre alive, are freely inspired by it, shape it, give it new breath. This is Deolinda, which, despite the name, is a quartet. The group is composed of one of the best voices in the current Portuguese fado scene, that of Ana Bacalhau (find me a more Portuguese name), two classical guitars and a double bass. The first innovation definitely comes from the formation, which lacks the absolute protagonist of "classic" fado: the Portuguese guitar.

But the biggest novelty of Deolinda is the attitude with which they approach the genre, a cheerful and playful attitude, the exact opposite of the dark, fatalistic, and sad essence of fado.

The lyrics are witty, ironic, somewhat dismissive, describing bad thoughts and curses, fleeting physical attractions, political passivity, even mocking the group that puts them to music or fado itself (with an ostentatious Brazilian accent). The melodies are lively and catchy and the quartet members themselves, although the quality of the performances is remarkable, reveal a playful approach: forget the Madredeus' Salgueiro-like attitude of singing as if she (alone) had (the voice).

Despite this, Deolinda do not entirely abandon the popular tradition, managing to combine novelty with the essence of classical fado, which speaks of more spiritual love or the charm of the Portuguese capital, also taking up the classic theme of meta-fado (fado that talks about fado).

The resulting album from this mix is balanced, interesting, and pleasant. It is the perfect representation of the "dois corações" - the bright and cheerful side of the people embracing the Atlantic, the melancholic one of saudade, of decay, of political oppression - of the Portuguese people who, unsurprisingly, have chosen Deolinda's songs as an anthem for a generation crushed by a fierce crisis.