Andre De Brito – Queen of Spades (Album Review)

Singer-songwriter Andre De Brito croons his way through 11 funk and soul-inspired tracks on his 7^th project “Queen of Spades”.

The cover of “Queen of Spades” itself tells a lot about the vibe the album strives to go for. Looking down while wearing a strikingly red fedora hat, shrouded by mysterious darkness, Andre wants to convey to the listener that “Queen of Spades” is a confident and bold fusion of funk and soul, which it achieves in some respects.

“Forever” kicks off the album with a groovy funk-inspired instrumental that harkens back to the days of disco and artists like Rick James and Cameo.

Andre approaches the song as more of an adlib track, letting a few harmonies fly here and there but mostly letting the instrumental do the work and utilising his voice as a kind of extra layer.

The next two tracks, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” and Dancefloor,” follow the same disco-floor-themed slickness as Forever,” with similarly smooth instrumentals and a lyrically simplistic style from Andre.

However, it’s on “Time to Let It Go”, that André widens his artistic scope and leaves his funk fantasy behind for a more realistic and vulnerable approach.\

Andre sings of the struggles and the necessity of moving on from past grievances and striving for something more. The softly played piano in the song helps deepen Andre’s emotional tone and creates a melancholic yet hopeful atmosphere.

“Count of Monte Cristo” sees Andre performing as a storyteller, telling the classic story through dramatic song form and capturing the grandiose and epic melodrama of the story through powerfully straining vocals and cinematic production.

“Dusk till Dawn”, one of the album’s closing tracks, is easily the most unique of the album with its glitchy, synth-pop instrumental that has a distinct 80’s nightclub soundscape that oozes dimly lit dance floors and glaring strobe lights.

The album closes in dramatic fashion with its titular track “Queen of Spades”. A solid closing song that incorporates all the previously explored sounds of the album. The song sees Andre back in his funk-filled groove and upbeat style, which feels like a bright and colourful way to close the project and make the album feel like a “full circle”.

However, whereas I do think there are plenty of bright spots in the production, some of Andre’s vocal performances leave a bit to be desired. At certain points on the album, his voice is capable of capturing striking emotion and enormous presence on a song, like the aforementioned “Queen of Spades”, but on certain songs, he simply misses the mark.

For example, “Time to Let It Go” has all the makings of a good slow, melodic song; however, Andre comes across a little bit like a bull in a china shop, sounding too harsh and loud over an instrumental that is meant for a more slowed-down, soothing tone.

“Kings of the World” is another one that I think unfortunately falls into Andre’s bad batch of songs, often sounding out of key and lyrically directionless at many points during the song. It feels like sometimes he is just coming up with the next line of the song as he is performing it and not really taking the theme anywhere.

Conclusion: It’s clear that André had a lot of fun creating this project; you can hear and feel it throughout the duration of the album. Songs like “Forever”, “Queen of Spades,” and “Count of Monte Cristo” are fun, exciting, and groovy. However, it’s also clear that Andre is a much better instrumentalist than he is a vocalist, and the production side of music is the area in which he truly shines.

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