If you’re new to the Brazilian Girls then you would have gotten the usual surprises; they’re not Brazilian, and only one is a girl (That honor belongs to the elegant lead singer Sabina Sciubba). But if you were a more seasoned fan of the Brazilian Girls, their show at the Paradise Rock Club on Thursday October 9th would have had its own share of surprises in store for you. Namely, that the Brazilian Girls seem to have left behind the party scene.
Whether this is a good thing or not remains to be seen, but for any in the crowd expecting a sensualized, revved up throwback to the days when the BG’s would rock the New York Nublu scene, they left unsatisfied. Which is a little strange… because the songs off the new album New York are not bad. The single "Good Time" will move you to have just what the title tells you, and most all of the old time Brazilian Girl favorites, “Jique,” “Don’t Stop” and “Pussy” got played. But the energy just wasn’t there. The volume was down and stage theatrics were at a minimum. The band seemed like maybe they’d been away from home one day too many and couldn’t muster much more than some low-key prancing around the stage. Even odder was the wall of plexiglass separating drummer Aaron Johnston from the crowd. Perhaps they’re were going for a more muffled sound but it seemed to serve more as a barricade between the drums and the crowd and add an extra bit of sedation to an already pretty mellow show.
It seems like the Brazilian Girl’s, in their third album, are searching for an identity beyond the faster paced bohemian club sound that brought them to notoriety, but they haven’t quite found what they’re looking for yet. It’s especially obvious on the meandering carnival sound of “Berlin.” As a result, the sometimes slow and wandering music translated into a sometimes slow and wandering show. Which maybe isn’t the worst thing in the world. Just be forewarned, these BG’s are not the same BG’s you grew up on in the first two albums.
Read more about Brazilian Girls in Rob Vassegh's interview at the Bostonist.
