Show Review: Brazilian Girls – 5/7

On Sunday night at the Brighton Music Hall, the Brazilian Girls performed in promotion of their latest album, Let’s Make Love. As a fairly diverse group currently based out of New York, the Brazilian Girls bring in influences from all over the world and are known for their eclectic alternative, electronic sound. Anticipation crowded the room, especially knowing that the band has not put out an album since 2009 when their album, New York City,  was nominated for a Grammy Award.

As the lights turned down, the opening band, Sun Parade, walked out on stage and began their high energy set. They sounded like a groovier version of Neon Trees or Vampire Weekend, especially in songs like “Cheer Up.” Overall they were very interesting to watch; co-lead vocalist is an extremely animated guitarist and vocalist with a mean whistle, while his counterpart and fellow vocalist/guitarist, Chris Marlon Jennings, provides a captivating falsetto and unmistakable cool demeanor. The drummer, Karl Helander, doubles as a background vocalist – an incredible feat of multi-tasking that will always impress me as both an audience member and fellow musician. Although at times, the band went off on lengthy jamming tangents, the connection with each other as well as their general presence on stage was impressive and entertaining to say the least.

Before I knew it, it was time for the Brazilian Girls to take the stage. As lead vocalist, Sabina Sciubba causally sipped her beer, the crowd migrated towards the stage and the keyboardist began. After just enough time, the drummer joined with some serious punch, eventually leaving space for the full band to enter into the mix. The group has such a serious  European/French-y vibe and performance style that is somewhat rare to see here in Boston. Sciubba is so calm and collected and seems to truly embody what it means to be an artist. She spoke in such a relaxed way while completely engaging the audience, throwing out poetic comments between sets like her desire to “fall in love with every city in the world.”

Every song brought a new element to the table, whether it was the steel pan/xylophone-esque sounds of “Karakoy,” the groovy 80’s synth in “WildWild Web,” or the interesting percussive elements in “Balla Balla.” The highlight of the night for me, however, was probably the moment that Sciubba revealed her incredible, light up pants about half way through the set (see picture at right). There were definitely some unforgettable moments throughout the night, and I am so glad that i was able to hang out at this amazing venue. If you want to check out the Brazilian Girls before they leave the country, they will be heading west to Colorado on May 9th, and then performing their last two shows in California on May 11th and 12th.