In 2000 I saw a Ford Thunderbird commercial that featured this guy in a T-Bird coming up to a stop sign in the desert at the same time as a Porche. The yuppie metrosexual in the Porche obviously wants to race so he kicks his hot girlfriend out of the car to wave a hankerchief ala Natalie Wood in Rebel Without A Cause. She starts the race and in a cloud of dust the Porche takes off. When the dust clears she sees the Thunderbird hasn't moved. She gets in the new T-Bird with the guy and they drive off together toward the desert sunset. Now what caught my attention was the cool tropicalia music playing in the background. So I did some research and found out the group was called Brazzaville.Brazzaville (named after the capital city of the Congo) was formed by their lead singer Dave Brown who is Beck's saxophone player. He has also toured with Tom Waits, Fiona Apple and Morphine. Brazzaville's second album Somnambulista immediately became one of my all time favorite records. The ethic behind Brazzaville is that these are wandering world travelers who sing about their world weary experiences in third world jungles and Cambodian airports. Brazzaville is now in self-imposed exile in Barcelona planning a world tour in a converted ocean freighter that will make stops in various ports-of-call. All four Brazzaville albums are amazing.
My favorite songs on Somnambulista are Casa Batillo (about that Gaudi house in Barcelona), Lazy, Flawed, and Hopeless (my wife's description of me), Jane (an otherworldly beach tune) and Old Man Dub (the reggae tune on the T-Bird commercial).
