Hand-claps, samples of old retro TV, flutters of cymbal, girlish vocals, and outright screams — these are the twee building blocks of Brazil’s reigning pop rock kings, Copacabana Club. But they’re not some adorable, girly band. Inflected with Bossa Nova strains and Surfer Rock bass-lines, this is pop rock intended for a sunny outdoor dance party. On “King of the Night” they forgo singing to yell out “King of the Dance floor” over and over again, a la Rapture, and one gets the sense they’re giving themselves the title.

Propelled into fame last year for “Just Do It” — a hopeful pop anthem that could have been thought up by an Architecture in Helsinki experiment with Latin rhythms — the little Paraná five-piece found an international stage. Their first four track EP found rave reviews in Folha de S. Paulo, Brazil’s biggest newspaper, but it wasn’t until the single “Just Do It” was tapped by Levi’s (you’d have thought Nike, right?) that they toured abroad, getting a nod from international press, including Kanye’s blog.

Formed in 2007, the five piece has a female drummer — Claudia Bukowski — which despite history’s advances, is still somewhat of an anomaly. On vocals, Caca V keeps things light and airy as cool whip while Alec Ventura, who also plays guitar, chimes in with the occasional spoken word back-up.

“I think everybody should compose music the way it feels right for themselves,” Bukowski, who looks to the Foals and Interpol as favorite bands, told Frozen Aisle magazine. “If you’re not having fun…something is not right. If you’re worried all the time about what everybody else is going to think about your songs, you’ll forget that the first person that should really enjoy your music is yourself.”

You get the sense these guys are having fun.

Check out their MySpace, videos below, see our coverage of their performance in the Planeta Terra festival, and…

TOUR DATES

March
16 Austin, TX Vice Bar (SXSW)
18 Austin, TX Esther’s Follies (SXSW)
26 New York, NY Lit Lounge
29 Philadelphia, PA Kung Fu Necktie
31 Boston, MA Middlesex Lounge

The video for “Just Do It”:

Watch them play “Come Back” on TV:

FULL SXSW COVERAGE: We went! We saw! We reviewed and slideshowed and interviewed! Some SUCKED! Some ROCKED! GO HERE!!

Photo Courtesy of Copacabana Club