Carla Morrison- Amor Supremo (2015)

Carla Morrison- Amor Supremo (2015)

“The truth is that the history of Mexico is a history in the image of its geography: abrupt and tortuous. Each historical period is like a plateau surrounded by tall mountains and separated from the other plateaus by precipices and divides.”

Octavio Paz

By: Ghost Writer

The thing with Carla Morrison's voice is that it is an amazingly unique musical instrument, when projected and recorded the right way, it can fill spaces with ease, it becomes a massive companion, reminding me of the great music from the 50s, when it only took drums and a strings section to make great music.

Opener Un Beso is precisely this, Carla's amazing voice presented in a massive and ethereal way at the same time filling the whole space, featuring an equally massive drum arrangement and shy bass limes are enough to create this impressive universe of delicate sounds that calls to mind the music of the great Kate Bush without the incredible baroque acrobatics of the British singer, Morrison displays here an admirable capacity to use her voice as something beyond words and sound in a universe were lost love and desire put us in the similar desperate navigation coordinates of say equally doomed and romantic Morrissey.

And drama and gothic touches appear in Vez Primera, another sad tale of lost love, Carla's words carefully intoned and displayed, and although Morrison's musical output is clearly identified with the world of pop, the production puts her in the middle of a too desperate world, covering her in shadows in a way, similar in context, this is music to get soul crushed, airy keyboards accentuate the drama and allows Morrison to get a little loose which makes her loose that massive power, while putting her in a more defenseless position that works fairly good to her advantage.

Kate Bush ghost again visit Morrison in No Vuelvo Jamas, one of the many ghosts accompanying Carla in this record, as the slow paced arrangements create the perfect backing for Morrison fragile yet penetrating voice, a performer capable of projecting such personality that her voice becomes immediately identifiable, a future too many singers would kill for, that Miley Cyrus is too bad at, and that singers like Lana Del Ray uses every second to give her music a cinematic touch.

Mi Secreto is one of the pop music pinnacle in the record, Morrison massive intonation feels lesser here, she, for the first time in the records follows the piano lines instead of leading, and the more diverse instrumental companion softens heavy weight of her performance, but although Morrison may look like a candidate for mass acceptance, her music is still too personal, too close to be made just for her, a fact that keeps her in a special place without compromising much of her artistic value, just as Tierra Ajena, an epic tour de force with mourning keyboards confirms.

Yo Vivo para Ti is another darker than night performance featuring a powerful performance and an equal powerful musical back up, a song that reminds me the epic and nostalgic music made in the end of the 70s by musicians from Spain or South America, Morrison here is a genius displaying an almost fully developed voice capable of shake the soul, while Tu Atacas could be the more dynamic song in the record (although it's still a waltzy theme), and in the end, the last song sound pretty monotone and kind of filler compositions, in the end Morrison and company seem dry in ideas and a little lost in somehow redundant songs like Mil Años.

Amor Supremo is a great record by an emerging artist with a unique voice so full of power and personality, a musical character gaining strength and displaying amazing growth as an artist, willing to get ahead of the pop game in Mexico, with singers like Natalia Lafourcade, Ximena Sariñana and Julieta Venegas, the state of female pop in México is well secured.