Biquini Cavadao were part of the second wave, I suppose, of the Brazilian BRock scene -- a late-1980s band instead of early '80s, and more tapped into synthy new wave as opposed to guitar-y punk and hard rock... Sort of like a Brazilian Oingo Boingo, perhaps. Here's a quick look at their work...
Biquini Cavadao "Biquini Cavadao (Box Set)" (Universal-Polydor, 2001)
A 4-CD set collecting four original albums -- Cidades Em Torrente, from 1986, A Era Da Incerteza (1987), Ze (1989) and Decivilizacao, from 1991. The albums are reviewed below.
Biquini Cavadao "Cidades Em Torrente" (Polydor, 1986)
The debut album of this '80s BRock outfit, recorded after the band had been together for three years... It's sluggish, dorkulent, synthy New Wave, with ditzy keyboards and guitars, processed drumming and toadlike vocals from lead singer Bruno Gouvea. Think: Haircut 100 or Oingo Boingo, without the moderate sense of fun. It's not really my cup of tea, but I suppose it's a teeny-tiny bit interesting to hear what rock-oriented pop bands were doing in Brazil at the time.
Biquini Cavadao "A Era Da Incerteza" (Polydor, 1987)
Musically, this is stronger than their first album, or at least more professionally produced... The vocals aren't as outright irritating -- Gouvea no longer sounds like a bullfrog being stepped on -- and the arrangements are a bit tighter (although some passages are still pretty darn clunky...) I guess Biquini Cavadao were at a disadvantage, since they seem to have been actually playing their instruments on these early albums, whereas the American bands they were emulating did everything by remote control. Nonetheless, they fit right into the "haircut band" synth-pop scene that was all the rage on MTV in the mid-'80s... Still, I hated that music when it was popular back then, and feel only a little more charitable towards some hapless Brazilian band faithfully dorking its way through the style. It's just not my cup of tea.
Biquini Cavadao "Ze" (Polydor, 1989)
More new wave dorkulence, though they kept getting slicker, and their sound got bigger as well... They were, perhaps, the Brazilian answer to Tears For Fears... Or perhaps Wall Of Voodoo? Take your pick.
Biquini Cavadao "Decivilizacao" (Polydor, 1991)
Poppy and lightweight, and much more listenable than the three previous records. They seem to have made a calculated effort to be accessible and more in touch with the Brazilian mainstream, touching lightly on the Afro-Brazilian and reggae influences of the then-dominant axe pop style, while largely leaving the yowling affectations of the true-believer New Wave scene behind. The results are okay -- this is totally generic, totally unmemorable but also okay as background music, at least in a way that their earlier records were not. I will never listen to any of these albums again, but if you want to check these guys out, this disc might be a good place to start.
Biquini Cavadao "Agora" (Sony-Epic, 1994)
Biquini Cavadao "Biquini.Com.Br" (BMG, 1998)
Biquini Cavadao "Remixes" (Polydor, 1998)
Biquini Cavadao "Escuta Aqui" (BMG, 2000)
Biquini Cavadao "80" (Universal, 2001)
Biquini Cavadao "Ao Vivo" (DeckDisc, 2005)
Biquini Cavadao "Cidades Em Torrente" (2007)
Biquini Cavadao "O Melhor De..." (Polygram, 1997)
Biquini Cavadao "Millennium" (Universal, 2002)
Biquini Cavadao "Sem Limite" (Universal, 2008)
