Quarto ao Lado’s debut single, “imagens a partir de um carro em movimento,” gently captures the restless yearning of a pandemic-era imagination. Written in 2021 as part of an academic exercise, the track bridges the isolation of lockdowns with a longing for urban reconnection, threading this sentiment through a dynamic interplay of organic and synthetic musical textures. The song’s composition reflects the metaphorical transition from stasis to motion, as its layers evoke both the confinement of virtual exploration and the exhilarating promise of physical freedom. It’s a poignant snapshot of recent times but is still incredibly personal.
With “tudo que eu vi,” Quarto ao Lado shifts focus inward, delving into the existential and emotional complexities that define their emerging sound. The first single from their debut album, this track encapsulates the band’s penchant for lyrical depth and layered arrangements. Its narrative intertwines fleeting joy with the ache of unresolved memories, creating a hauntingly relatable portrayal of identity and longing. The blurring of past and present, happiness and sorrow, is mirrored in the song’s instrumentation, where delicate melodies give way to moments of dissonance. By exploring the fragile balance between self-acceptance and the desire for reinvention, “tudo que eu vi” cements Quarto ao Lado as a band unafraid to explore the vulnerabilities of the human experience.
Both tracks have a delicate tenderness to them that softens the gravity of the hard-hitting questions in the lyricism. There is a charming layering of the vocals that expertly matches the instrumentation and makes everything more harmonious. This also embodies how blurred experiences that bring about complicated emotions are a shared feeling. These songs were just genuinely beautiful and I cannot wait for the full project.
Written by Nthatile Mavuso
