Cristóvam – Single Review: “Setting Sun”

Portuguese singer/songwriter Cristóvam grew up in the Azores islands, surrounded by music and the natural beauty of his home. His grandfather started the second oldest radio station in the Atlantic region, and left behind a massive record collection that captivated him as a child and teen, and influenced him to become a musician. Drawing inspiration from such artists as Bob Dylan, Ray Lamontagne, Bon Iver, Angus & Julia Stone, as well as the beauty of his surroundings, Cristóvam creates incredibly pleasing folk songs steeped in lovely melodies and poetic lyrics, and delivered with beautiful instrumentals and his warm, comforting vocals that sound like he could be from Nashville, Austin, or even Dublin. In fact, he reminds at times of Matt Nathanson.

Cristóvam released his debut album Hopes & Dreams in 2018, which I really enjoyed listening to as I familiarized myself with his music in preparation to write this review. It’s an outstanding collection of songs, and I highly recommend that my readers check it out on your favorite streaming platform. He then followed up earlier this year with the poignant and timely “Andra Tutto Bene”, which spoke to the struggles so many have faced as a result of the pandemic.

On October 9th, he dropped his latest single “Setting Sun”, a beautiful, uplifting song about two people so deeply in love that together, they can weather any storm that comes their way, or at least forget the troubles of the outside world for a little while: “Our love is like an island floating in the desert blue.” Cristóvam confides, “I started writing it in 2018, when I was on a holiday with my girlfriend in Sardinia, and sort of left it there. But this year, with all that’s happening and the world being such a strange place, somehow those lyrics resonated back with me, and the fact that I felt so lucky to find comfort in my own little corner, far out in the middle of the Atlantic.”

The stunning video was filmed in and around the Capelinhos volcano in the Azores, and beautifully captures the romance and sweeping majesty of the track.