Search - Brazilian Girls :: New York City

Good not great and best for already established fans

J. Wright Witcher | 09/28/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This the third Brazilian Girls CD is another evolution for them - just as much as Jique was compared to their Brazilian Girls debut album. Words and music have gone from dreamy/introspective and infused with sex (debut), to edgy/political (Jique) to, in this case, verging on obscure. Established BG fans like me will keep listening to it, and it does grow on you - but not without effort. If you have had someone say to you, "Brazilian Girls are great - check them out", I'd strongly recommend that you start with one or the other of their first two CD's. As always, in order to really like these guys, you have to have fairly eclectic musical taste and internationalist tendencies - lyrics are in English here, in French, Italian, German or Spanish there, often within the same piece (and no lyricis in the liner notes -shame!). Rhythmic intensity, a trademark of BG from the beginning, is definitely still here, though maybe not as inventive as in previous CD's. I look forward to seeing Brazilian Girls live as they tour this - if you like live shows, do not miss them - Sabrina Sciubba is electric, and both Didi Gutman and Aaron Johnston are awesome musicians. The energy level is very high. BG have replaced their old website with a good MySpace page - tour dates, samples, etc are all there."

Interesting!

Anthony Morelli | Montreal, Canada | 08/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This has to be the most International sounding of all the 3 BG albums so far. Far less based on bouncy, electronic keyboard riffs and pounding bass lines, "NYC" is edgier, slower and everything in between, leaving behind their familiar sexy sound I adored on the other 2 cds. It's still worth the 5-star rating because of the BG themselves, and the hard work they put into their music, but I wasn't left blown away or feeling satisfied like before. The 1st half of the album is better than the rest and I pretty much lost interest during the last two songs, although the track 11 has a dark "death march" sound to it in the last minute or so. My favorite tracks are: 1,2,3,4 and 5. Track 10 isn't bad either. At least 6 songs caught my attention, making the album worth having.



The pics in the booklet are candid and colorful. Sabina's pictured without some apparatus obscuring her pretty face. Aaron's got a patch-work haircut which looks kind of ridiculous because he's really a great looking guy. Some of the instruments & arrangements remind me of the noise Bjork used on her 2 latest albums, which is cool, because it adds drama to the songs. I don't know, if there were more bouncy numbers...like for example: "Don't Stop" or "Last Call" or "Jique"...the album would've really shone and stood out, but it just doesn't for me. As for the disc itself, I like the coloring and design in silver, black and aqua. Very neat and so BG at the same time.



Tracklisting & Time:

01- St. Petersburg - 4'21

02- Losing Myself - 4'28

03- Berlin - 2'39

04- Strangeboy - 5'21

05- Good Time - 3'47

06- Nouveau Americain - 3'53

07- L'interprete - 2'27

08- InternaCional - 6'19

09- Ricardo - 4'01

10- I Want Out - 4'24

11- Mano De Dios - 4'23"

Too loose, too everything-at-once

Scott Woods | Columbus, Ohio United States | 11/11/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"After a first record that hit all the right spots and a sophomore effort that did not, this third offering is somewhere between "alright" and "okay". It's more experimental, but not in all the right directions. Too loose, too everything-at-once. Not as sure-footed. A few tracks work, but this mostly comes off as mish-mash of noodlings."