Album: Mil Coisas Invisíveis
Artist: Tim Bernardes
Release Date: June 14, 2022
Link to Purchase: https://timbernardes.bandcamp.com/album/mil-coisas-invis-veis
Favorite Tracks |
BB (Garupa de Moto Amarela) |
Mesmo Se Você Não Vê |
Realmente Lindo |
I'm excited to finally share my favorite album of 2022. Tim Bernardes' Mil Coisas Invisíveis is a gorgeous collection of beautiful, sentimental, masterfully written songs. Delicate guitar and Bernardes' warm, velvety voice are accompanied throughout the album by skillful arranging to create rich, engulfing sonic environments. Hailing from São Paulo, Bernardes is best known as the lead singer of Brazilian band O Terno, with whom he has released a handful of albums. Mil Coisas Invisíveis (A Thousand Invisible Things) is his second solo album, following his acclaimed 2017 solo release, Recomençar.
I encourage everyone to read the detailed story of Mil Coisas Invisíveis on its Bandcamp page. Bernardes explains that this album became a part of his self-development and was a means for a personal "conscious shift" - choosing to think more deeply about concepts like spirituality, consciousness, and the deeper meaning behind things. Reflecting on this, I wonder if that's why this album resonated so significantly for me this year, as I went through similar changes in my thoughts, habits, and self-development. Despite my very limited understanding of Portuguese, these songs, musically, are perfectly evocative of the very ideas he's singing about. Mil Coisas Invisíveis possesses everything I love in an album - great songwriting, musical intrigue and depth, distinction and character, and it evokes so much genuine emotion. I strongly suggest a straight listen-through - taking it all in without looking up lyric translations just yet, and allowing for complete immersion in the musical landscapes and sentiments of each song.
One of my favorite tracks on the album is "BB (Garupa de Moto Amarela)." This sincere love song was written originally for Bernardes' girlfriend as a Christmas gift, and is a perfect example of how his understanding of arranging transforms this relatively simple song (harmonically and melodically) into something so special and engaging. Subtle textural changes happen throughout the song at just the right moments and emotive string writing provides emphasis at the sentimental peaks. The first time I heard this song, I was taken aback by its beauty and sincerity, and shed a few tears as the final IV - IVmin - I chord progression carried me through to the end.
My favorite song of the year and on the album is "Mesmo Se Você Não Vê" (Even If You Don't See). This gentle, sentimental gem is about the idea that everything will be okay, even if it doesn't feel that way in the moment - to just breathe and remember that the sun will always appear once again. Only featuring delicate guitar and Bernardes' pure voice, this song is the perfect way to wrap up the album, enveloping the listener in a warm embrace.
I could go on and on, in detail, about how much I love the arranging, the songwriting, Bernardes' incredible vocal delivery, the sonic environments, and the overall impact of each song on the album, but I hope you'll be inclined to find all of that out for yourself. What I most love is that Mil Coisas Invisíveis is honest and human. It's so subtle while being so masterful, showcasing the beauty that good songwriting, thoughtful arranging, and emotional sincerity can achieve. I hope you are able to spend some time with this album, and I hope you, too, can experience some of the serenity, emotion, reflection, and wonder that lives within the 15 tracks.