<\/a><\/p>\n

On a retreat from the relentless pep that her native Brazilian Girls<\/a> exuded, Sabina<\/a> Sciubba has come forth with Toujours, <\/i>a debut solo album celebrating the artists\u2019 many moods.\u00a0 I had the pleasure of seeing Sabina last month at The Highline Ballroom, where she put on a show I\u2019m not soon to forget.\u00a0 I loved her music live, but it lost no charm in the studio.<\/p>\n

The songs range between uplifting and mournful, and every beat in between.\u00a0 On the sorrowful side, you have tracks like \u201cCinema,\u201d \u201cThe Sun,\u201d and \u201cFields of Snow,\u201d all of which share an overwhelming proximity to Nico in both vocal styling and dreary minimalism.\u00a0 \u201cCinema\u201d in particular resounds with far more notes of Lou Reed than those of the German Uber Dame, but it\u2019s Velvet Underground all over.\u00a0 It recounts the story of a broken old whore, of whom Sabina wryly asks: \u201cWho are you today? Propaganda or art?\u201d These are the kind of poetic gems that illuminate Sabina\u2019s absurdly astute command of language\u2014all four of them. Sabina speaks Italian, German, English, and French, on top of being a songwriter, visual artist, and actress. Her skillset is enough to inspire blatant self-loathing, and she\u2019s beautiful to boot.<\/p>\n

\u201cSailor\u2019s Daughter\u201d is more on the sexy side of things. With all the sensuality of a Prince ballad, it bares the oft-ignored sensitive side of the German language. Cradled by sweet \u201coohs\u201d and searing horns, it\u2019s part Marvin Gaye, part David Byrne, but all Sabina.<\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t a song I would skip on this record, but of course I have my preferences, and surprisingly, they\u2019re of the upbeat variety.\u00a0 The title track\u00a0is just weird enough to pique interest but risks none of its pop sensibility. The song opens with shrill pulses of electric organ that sound like the frantic cousin of a Hammond B3.\u00a0 These first sharp cries send me straight into the dark-carnival concocted on Tom Waits\u2019 1983 beauty Swordfishtrombones.\u00a0<\/i>The rest of the song is of course more approachable, but just that little beat of screeching keys is the perfect dose of strange. Latin drumbeats and staccato vocals add interest and exemplify Sabina\u2019s style, which always includes a vibrant mixture of world music.<\/p>\n

“Viva L’amour” is another high point on the album. Sabina\u2019s voice is at its most conversational and sultry.\u00a0 She talks more than sings in a blas\u00e9 narration that reminds me of \u201cSpill the Wine and Take That Girl\u201d by Eric Burden and War.\u00a0 Yet the song also boasts references to 1960s surf pop and Bossa Nova.<\/p>\n

\u201cMystery River\u201d also takes notes from the \u201860s.\u00a0 The song is rooted by a steady blues beat, but more so the one attempted by bands of the British Invasion than Muddy Waters.\u00a0 I\u2019m hearing Them<\/a> and early Stones accompanied by a simple bass riff, and surprising jolts of mariachi horns.<\/p>\n

Sabina has created an album as diverse as her own linguistic abilities, and it\u2019s a pleasure to understand Toujours, <\/i>despite my own lingual handicaps.<\/p>\n