And from Pará, in the north of Brazil, she’s the voice of tecnobrega!
[Video][Website]
[6.86]
Jonathan Bogart: Like a “C30, C60, C90 Go!” for 3G-enabled Lusophone downloaders, it rocks the chorus “I’m sampling you, I’m stealing from you.” The hyperactive music agrees, hustling through everything from one-drop Kingston skank to countrified Colombian cumbia, with synths juddering and pinging all around and Gaby at the center winking and declaiming and striking mocking poses. The whole thing is a self-parodic burlesque — Xirley Xarque (pronounced Shirley Shark) is Amarantos’ Sasha Fierce-like alter ego, with the outrageous behavior (“coffee strained through panties, to seduce him” goes one repeated line) and the scuzzy, cobbled-together music that make for the kind of superb camp that can cross all cultural boundaries. She’s as much comedian as she is musician, though: the last joke of the video is that it ends with an over-the-top anti-piracy announcement featuring a disapproving Jesus Christ.
[8]
Alfred Soto: Tell No Doubt that this is the way to record cyberskank.
[6]
Iain Mew: We haven’t had computer noise this bracing since Invy Da Truth. Oof. Bolting it onto creaky synths and almost skiffle beats is a move of bold genius, as Amarantos seems well aware from her confidently outsized performance. She’s practically laughing with pleasure at her own audacity by the end of it, and I’m going right along with her.
[9]
Patrick St. Michel: During this Latin Grammy week, my favorite artists have been the ones finding a happy median between traditional sounds and futuristic bursts. “Xirley” is my favorite song from this special installment of the Jukebox, because the music swings between old and new, all while Gaby Amarantos refuses to flinch over these changes. A little Internet research tells me she’s been doing this since 1995, her flair over this type of hybrid song well earned. It seems unfair to throw this up against all the other songs nominated in this category — they all sound like young artists trying to carve out an identity. Amarantos sounds like she has hers locked down on “Xirley.”
[9]
Anthony Easton: I know nothing about this, but the horns are some of the most skilled and most gorgeous things in recent memory, and the chorus is just as exciting.
[8]
Will Adams: It’s impressive when a track can properly balance authentic instruments with synthetic ones. It’s even more impressive when they can trade places without missing a beat.
[6]
Brad Shoup: There’s something grating about this. As soon as the chopped accordion approximation quits, the bassy fartflowers bloom. The whole experience is not unlike listening to the credits of a fourth-rate spy caper.
[2]