Collegiate Times

Two straight days of insomnia and the resulting fatigue are no way to go about the end of summer. Something needs to be done to get the sleep cycle back in proper order, and perhaps that answer is within a newly released album. Take for instance the electronic group Brazilian Girls, and its third studio effort, "New York City" (Verve).

I need this record to start off with something just upbeat enough to keep me moving, but with enough of the lounge style the group is famous for to keep me soothed. "St. Petersburg" is a decent way to open the follow-up to the 2006's "Talk To La Bomb." Lead singer Sabina Sciubba's enchanting vocals are certainly pleasant, even if she's starting to mock the Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer in the bridge. Maybe this album can keep me awake for about a half-hour.

"Losing Myself" starts off with a bit of jumbled noise, eventually turning into a background melody for Sciubba's multilingual vocals. In the hook, she talks about "losing myself/abusing myself" over a lover, while explaining it in French in the verses. It's a familiar tactic of the Brazilian Girls (who, by the way, are from New York), having the lead singer use many different tongues, all within the course of the song. Two songs in no way make an album, and there are nine left for me to consider as a sleep aid.

Sciubba and instrumentalists Didi Martin and Aaron Johnston take some interesting approaches with the tracks in the middle of the album. While the band is mainly classified as an electronic outfit, it seems to draw from a larger range of influences. "Berlin" sounds as if the band went to a circus of some sort, really enjoyed the music, needed to cut a song for the label, and made something. It's a track that will either have fans or detractors, with no room for indecision. "Strangeboy" takes some cues from the somewhat neglected genre of bossa nova; "Ricardo" serves as a continuation on having a '60s influence and "I Want Out" stays on the path, describing how I feel right now. I want out of this album, and it's a shame. Their previous efforts were a genuine reflection of something new, but it's become carbon-copied on "New York City."

With the remaining songs on the album, I want memorable hooks and music, something to dream about while I sleep. "L'Interprete" does not help this cause, as one of the slowest songs I've heard from the Brazilian Girls. A nearly two-and-a-half minute tune should not feel almost twice as long. At least it might help me get to sleep.

Thankfully, it's followed up with the single, "Good Time."  It's not quite that original of a song, with the way it celebrates good times, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. "Internacional" is six minutes of superb music from Martin and Johnston (with Sciubba's vocals being serviceable), "Nouveau Americain" was touched by industrial but not enough to leave a lasting impression. "Mano De Dios" is an experiment in ambient ideas that does not exactly pan out. "New York City" may get me to sleep tonight, but consider that more of an ill omen than a sign of a strong record.

Grade: C+