Archivo Pittoresco - Lula Pena

The Guardian 60

(Crammed)

Her two previous albums have found this Portugese singer counted among the new generation of fado vocalists, though Lula Pena has little in common with the theatricality of divas such as Mariza. Indeed, there are times here when her vocals retreat into a delirious mumble, while her repertoire ranges across Brazilian and Greek composers, medieval troubadours, Sardinian folk and Belgian surrealism. Small wonder her adopted theme tune is Come Wander With Me, from 1960s sci-fi series The Twilight Zone. Yet Pena packs a fado-like intensity into her work, marrying her voice to acoustic guitar backings and favouring allusive, poetical songs, intended “to reach a collective unconscious open source”. A fluid, multilingual trance that is truly singular.