Brazilian Girls Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
On their third album, the ever eclectic Brazilian Girls return to the joyful bohemian groove magic of their debut. Most importantly, they once again make it sound effortless and play their downtown worldbeat loose rather than lazy, making their loft music more welcoming than it was on Talk to La Bomb, the too clever sophomore effort that suffered from a slight case of entitlement. Here, the meticulously arranged opener, "St. Petersburg," announces that the Girls are out to earn their accolades this time as soundtrack music, tribal beats, and shuffling jazz all pass under Sabina Sciubba's intoxicating vocals. When she offers "Here is your anthem/Now go to hell," it's plain to see that the playfulness and cool flippancy are back, too, something that makes the singalong highlight "Ricardo" such a good-time single, perfect for chic summery weekends. "Internacional" is "Peter Gunn Theme" versus any given Serge Gainsbourg song, and when tubas meet Sciubba's tongue-rolling pronouncement of "Berlin," the track of the same name becomes something like a new wave revival of the musical Cabaret. Rounding out this unclassifiable effort are peaceful moments like "L'Interprete" and electronica-aware pop songs like "I Want Out," plus plenty of Astrud Gilberto-inspired numbers that explain why this group of non-Brazilian musicians gets to use the "B" word. With Brazilian Girls' sense of wonder and love of musical globe-trotting as strong as ever, New York City is a welcome return to form for this very special group. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With their lead singer sensually delivering her witty lyrics in five different languages while the band skillfully flirts with house, dub, and plenty of other cosmopolitan genres of music in the background, the Brazilian Girls' Talk to La Bomb revisits nearly all the elements that made their 2005 self-titled debut such a thrill, but the songwriting has slipped a bit, welcoming the beloved act to the sophomore slump. With great ideas hidden deep inside wandering tracks and more loose numbers than it should have, Talk to La Bomb feels a lot like the B-sides and remixes collections plenty of other bands follow a killer debut with, which means fans will get something substantial out of it but they won't be able to convert their friends. There's still some solid reason to cheer for the band with the Ric Ocasek-produced "Last Call" being a delicious kind of comfortable pop-house, while "Sweatshop" offers a winning combination of sexuality and Stereolab. The tribal "Tourist Trap" gets reckless in the tropics with its fun tale of "lighting up at the pool/peeing into the ocean" and the closing "Problem" is the Vogue magazine/punk rocker the Girls always seemed to have in them, but tracks like "Sexy Asshole" and "Never Met a German" are forgettable and feel like they were written because somebody dropped a clever song name. Talk to La Bomb indulges every whim you'd expect on an odds-and-sods compilation, so pretend it is and adjust your expectations accordingly. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
None of them are Brazilian, only one is a girl, and they jump around genres like a schizophrenic DJ, but all the obtuseness is just window dressing when you consider the groove and smart, playful attitude that hold the Brazilian Girls' debut together. Bouncing between house music, samba-flavored pop, and freaky dancing stoner anthems all seems rather effortless in the able hands of the the Brazilian Girls, three guys and one gal who are totally Nublu. If you don't know Nublu, it's a club in New York City that seems to dig up one musician/DJ after another who could be equally at home in the pages of Vogue or the Wire. The Brazilian Girls walk with much more of a smirk than their Nublu brothers, Wax Poetic, but they share a common bond: skillful execution of delicious and sultry vibes. If it's not the feet moving, it's the head bobbing, with everything from Air-like dreaminess ("Lazy Lover") to '80s-styled references (the good ol' Linn drum machine used for "Long") calling out for body response. The "drink some tea/smoke some herb" highlight "Don't Stop" should make everyone from Little Louie Vega to Gilles Peterson happy, while Marlene Dietrich pines from above that she didn't get a crack at the wistful "Ships in the Night." Even when she's not borrowing from Pablo Neruda, Sabina Sciubba is a stunning lyricist, poetically vivid one moment and flippantly dropping pop-culture references the next. Her voice is beautiful while her delivery is sometimes triumphant, sometimes homey/lazy, and always suggestive. The only bummer for those who devour anything from the house of Nublu is that the band's debut EP is repeated here, minus the remixes, but its three tracks work better here, surrounded by deeper grooves and the more wandering numbers. Superb, fun, sexy, and highly recommended. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
