New York City
by Brazilian Girls
  • Record Label: Verve
  • Release Date: Aug 5, 2008
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Pitchfork
    72
    Brazilian Girls have no problem making their mish-mash sound downright normal, which in a way it is.
  2. Billboard
    80
    On New York City, Brazilian Girls have crafted a set as internationally diverse as the Big Apple itself.
  3. The New York Times
    80
    The album’s surprises are glimpses of misgivings shared with the groove, like the keyboard obsessively jabbing one chord in 'Losing Myself' or the eerie track--tom-toms, fluttery organ notes, high “ahs”--behind 'I Want Out.'
  5. Boston Globe
    80
    The album bumps from electronica to cabaret to jazz and back again; it's busy but never feels schizophrenic.
  6. Los Angeles Times
    75
    The foundation of the band's boutique pop isn't its cultural fluency but its daring to be substantially bizarre, which is often realized on New York City.
  7. The A.V. Club
    75
    Such feel-good moments of abandon keep New York City from becoming too hopelessly chic, resulting in a party album that manages to sound grown and sexy without being alienating.
  8. Under The Radar
    70
    As with previous efforts, the music's all over the place, grabbing from house, Afrobeat, chanson, and more, but you can always count on percussion loops, danceability, and Sciubba's sultry multilingual musings. [Fall 2008, p.79]
    All this publication's reviews
  9. Blender
    70
    Like the previous Brazilian Girls records, New York City is a lounge-y pileup of bossa rhythms and Old World romantic ache, girded by slithery push-button funk throb—at once refined and happily trashy.
  10. AllMusic
    70
    With Brazilian Girls' sense of wonder and love of musical globe-trotting as strong as ever, New York City is a welcome return to form for this very special group.
  11. Hartford Courant
    80
    Thanks to their increasingly varied sound, the Girls remain aloof and unknowable. They have us right where they want us: behind the velvet ropes.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. mozhead
    Nov 6, 2010
    8
    I just got this cd a week ago, though i had listened it previously and its really, really good...ive seen them twice touring for their firstI just got this cd a week ago, though i had listened it previously and its really, really good...ive seen them twice touring for their first two albums...and they always create a really good party vibe, but a smart one...and not in the pretentious way....i think they deserve more exposure....so come on people...one by one start enjoying the freshness of Brazilian Girls music!!!!!… Full Review »
  2. Jesseneuro
    Apr 17, 2018
    8
    Ten years after the release of this Grammy-nominated album (for best "dance recording", 2008) I'm compelled to throw down some verbiage on it,Ten years after the release of this Grammy-nominated album (for best "dance recording", 2008) I'm compelled to throw down some verbiage on it, after noticing that their newest album, released April 2018, is not gracing the Metacritic purview (it's called "Let's Make Love", and it, too, is better than good to GREAT, as in a solid 8. This BAND, somewhat like Blondie, are a band of mostly men each with one female lead singer and female-implied band name whose vocal charisma and style is signature to their sound, but unlike Blondie, they've had only some niche-success, and deliver a more "international" flavored musical palette. This happens to be my least admired Brazilian Girls album out of their now four, but it's still an 8 (or 8.4, to be exact). The album's highlights IMHO are 3 songs that haven't ceased to deliver fun, musically interesting, aural perfection, throughout the 10 year anniversary of its release, and the 3 nominees are: "Internacional", "Berlin", and "Ricardo".
    "Ricardo". And how interesting that they're considered to be an NYC-band, and I'm not sure when 3 out of the 4 members, the men, established residence in Istanbul, Paris, and Madrid, nor the extent of their fan-base in those cities and apparently quite a few more.    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »