I just discovered Barbara Eugenia (via her track on the free-to-download “New Sound of Sao Paulo” album.
She really stands out. Much as I love MPB (musica popular brasileira), it can get a bit same-same; female artists all have similar (lovely) crystalline voices and gentle samba-ish rhythms and often cover the same canon of 1970s Brazilian songs. So it is really fresh to hear Barbara mix it up with an almost Amy Winehouse-ish/Janelle Monae 1960s sound, a pronounced (and effective) vintage store hipster look, and occassionally English lyrics. And of course, she is gorgeous.
What is with all the smoking though?
[...] First it was the Australian hipsters, now here come the Brazilians. This is new MPB (“Musica Popular Brasileira”) act Macau ( or at least one previously unknown to me) featuring the ice-cool Barbara Eugenia. [...]