Golondrina

Dom La Nena—Golondrina

Review by Luis A. Apolaya

The multilingual Brazilian-born Dominique Pinto, who performs under the name Dom La Nena (which translates to “Dom the Babe”), offers simple and poignant songs with little more than her cello and her breathy, sensual voice. This is what Joanna Newsom would sound like if she traded her harp for a cello and lowered her vocal range by at least one octave. Not the most elaborate cellist, but she knows how to layer the sounds she makes to create an effect. Recommended tracks: 1, 4. NO FCCs. RIYL Joanna Newsom, Fiona Apple, Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang—My Baby Shot Me Down” from Kill Bill.

**1. (4:21) Layers of pizzicato and arco cello under Dom’s soft vocals, sung in Spanish, could be part of the background music of a rainy scene in a noir film, feels expectant, yet somehow calming.
2. (3:23) Somewhat cheerful mood, sung in English, some electric drums sound faint in the background.
3. (3:23) Sung in a sensual French, a hint of “Canon in D” in the background.
*4. (4:01) A cappella for first minute, after cello comes in the mood becomes melancholy and longing, like a soft-spoken funeral song.