Ramona Cordova
The Boy Who Floated Freely

Put your children to bed and tell them the tale of Giver, a boy who shipwrecks on a semi-deserted island where he meets a young gypsy who makes him fall in love with the help of a magic potion, only to abandon him and let him return alone but free to fly like a paper airplane over the ocean. The ending is melancholic yet happy, just like the acoustic folk that Ramona Cordova offers us in this dreamlike journey.

An album of childlike innocence that begins with the singing of birds in a fairytale setting, where a rather feminine voice enchants us and transports us into the gypsy "Inside The Gypsy Bar", amidst clap handing and Spanish guitars. Here we realize that the comparisons with Devendra Banhart are not entirely random, and if we add a sibylline singing worthy of Antony and a scent of enchantment distilled by Cocorosie, our young protagonist already presents himself with a good resume. Naturally, such comparisons could amplify the beauty of this album, which I would describe as very captivating thanks to fragile, elusive songs and the peculiarity of a voice that adapts to the characters, shifting from pseudo-masculine tones to delicate feminine falsettos, as in "Chesser" where there is a back-and-forth between the story's protagonists and the guitar seems to give voice to the feelings. In "Giver's Reply" a church organ welcomes the bewildered boy, then the pace quickens with the support of a homemade drum. The guitar arpeggios are always sunny, as in "Sung With The Birds", reminiscent of the acoustic Beatles. A short but lively ending makes us fly with Giver; if your children are now asleep, the potion will have worked.