Elza Soares: The Woman at the End of the World review – Brazil's samba queen still rules

For the extraordinary Elza Soares, time doesn’t seem to matter. She is officially in her late 70s (though the archives suggest she could be older), and has survived a switchback career. Born in a tough Rio favela, she was hailed as one of the city’s greatest samba queens in the 1950s, then fell from fashion before returning as a Brazilian icon. And she has continually updated her music. Taking note that the experimental music scene is now based in São Paulo, she recorded this remarkable new set with a band that includes Kiko Dinucci of Metá Metá and members of Afrobeat-influenced Bixiga 70. They mix samba with distorted rock and jazz influences on songs that deal with subjects including domestic violence and the death of a crack-addicted transvestite. Soares’s husky, crooned vocals dominate throughout. Surely the Brazilian album of the year.