Few albums begin with such formidable tracks as 'Short Shore' and you could stop right there because this sweeping piano trio piece from the pianist Mário Laginha with double bassist Bernardo Moreira and drummer Alexandre Frazão has such a lot of authority to it and covers so much ground. The style throughout the album falls in the modern-mainstream domain meaning it's fairly melodic and there is a certain easy to navigate structure to the arc of each piece. I found myself more interested in Laginha's playing than in the trio and the album because of this certainly works as a pianistic statement as much as anything else. The Portuguese player isn't at all caught up in experimenting with form, it's more an album where heart on sleeve expressionism and a certain romantic character is more important and few can tease out a melody say on a track such as 'Ribeira da Barca' as well as Laginha can on what is a deeply persuasive record.