Brazilian Girls own their beat

Singer Sabina Sciubba is a quirky, alluring presence behind the microphone, a Bjork in the making. With the band Brazilian Girls, she makes music of eclectic style and fun, without ever shattering the mystery.

As the curtains opened Sunday at the band’s Knitting Factory performance, Sciubba sang from inside a white stretchy bag (shades of John & Yoko) as the recorded voice of the late William S. Burroughs drawled, “The boys on top don’t like waves.” Clearly, Brazilian Girls make waves of their own, with an international down-tempo sound that is both complex and easy to absorb.

The New York-based quartet performed songs from its debut album for 90 minutes, with real dancing in the capacity crowd, moving to the deep bass lines and waves of hypnotic melody and clattering beats that echoed ‘90s trip-hop. “It’s not about the melody,” Sciubba sang over subtle layers of keyboards, laptop, live bass and drums. “There is none.... It’s all about us.” Brazilian Girls prefer the darkness, repeatedly asking that the house lights be turned low, with no spotlight on stage, leaving just hazy red light and shadow.

The sound was likewise dark and smoky, sometimes sleepy (in all the right ways), or excited and alive, as on “Dance Till the Morning Sun,” which rocked with beats and electronics. On “Lazy Lover,” Sciubba was all romantic, buoyed by the band’s cascading keyboards and a commitment to everything smooth and danceable and never anything obvious.