Cabruêra / Cabruera

Guitars played with ballpoint pens to sound like cellos (or electronic loops), slithering basses, clavichords where you don't expect them, layers of percussion — put them all together, add some voices, and you've got Cabruera, one of the most original bands to emerge from Brazil in several years. There's a great feel of northeastern Brazil in their rough and ready forro and coco sound, but the underlying feel has far more to do with rock — hardly surprising, given that most of the band has a background in that. It gives plenty of verve to the sound and a penchant for experimentation they indulge right from the explosive opening of "Loa de Chegança." By never settling into one form, they keep the listener hopping — metaphorically and literally, as the music is very danceable. What they've created, essentially, is Brazilian folk-rock for the 21st century, insidious and divine and well worth hearing. If you imagined all Brazilian music was samba or bossa nova, this will shock you — but in the very best way.