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While the sight of one swallow may not a summertime make, the endless stream of bossa/samba influenced albums landing on my desk does seem to suggest summer is about to begin.

For the album Clara draws on the help of her mother (the bossa legend Joyce) who oversaw the project, plays guitar on a couple of tracks and wrote ‘Sabe Quem’ especially for her daughter. The track ‘Meu Samba Torto’ was also composed for the album and written by Celso Fonesca who pops up throughout on guitar and also provides excellent backing vocals on ‘Litoranea’.

The album also features covers of Jorge Ben’s ‘Vem Morena Vem’ and ‘Morena Boca de Ouro’ made famous by João Gilberto.

Clara’s rich, sometimes breathy voice is backed by simple guitar rhythms and gentle percussion. She avoids the temptation to prove her modernity through unnecessary electronic components and instead concentrates on producing warm and endearing music.

Her voice is at its most sexy on ‘Bahia com H’ while ‘Copacabana’ demonstrates its versatility.

Like most albums in the nu-Brazil vein Meu Samba Torto features the ubiquitous English track, and sadly like others in the same vein there is little good to be said about it.

Despite that, and perhaps also putting aside the experimental sounding ‘Se Acaso Voce Chegass’ — which may take a bit of getting used to, this is a refreshing and intimate album.