Is there a genre name as pointlessly generic as World Beat? This common gripe, in fact, is the conceptual brainstorm behind the heady appeal of Brazilian Girls, a quartet of New York-based club musicians none of whom are Brazilian and only one of whom is a girl. Though they dabble in bossa nova, they mostly cast their musical net farther afield, and not just within the tropics.
A few observers have noticed an affinity with past masters of faux Euro-lounge like Pizzicatto Five, and vocalist Sabina Sciubba, who utilizes five different languages on the group's eponymous debut, nails the lazy-sexy drawl that's de rigueur for French pops. The styles are even more diverse. On "Corner Stone" alone they access gypsy horn music, reggae and Detroit techno. But what BG means to do is put the Beat back in World. Even when they keep the tempo relaxed, which is most of the time, the rhythms are insistent and up front. Like the Scissor Sisters, another NYC band with a deceptively female-identified moniker, Brazilian Girls just wanna have fun.
