Brazilian Girls, the New York-based art-rock-party band who's last album was nominated for a Grammy Award, went on an extended hiatus last year when lead singer Sabina Sciubba decamped to Paris for the birth of her first child (a baby boy named Altaï). The band then saw its early October return to action sidelined by immigration red tape. Sciubba, a German national living in France, ran in problems obtaining her visa to return to the United States, and the band was forced to cancel two shows, including on October 2 appearance on Governor's Island, just off the southern tip of Manhattan.

Fortunately, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was able to cut through the red tape, and expedited the visa process so the Brazilian Girls could get back to business. "Musicians from overseas who perform in New York add tremendous value to the City's vibrant cultural and tourist economy," Gillibrand told Billboard. "I am thrilled that these shows will go on and the U.S. tour can proceed on schedule."

The band currently has two shows scheduled - an October 17 slot at San Francisco's Treasure Island Music Festival and an October 19 gig at Avalon in Los Angeles - before returning to New York to begin recording its fourth album, tentatively titled "The Great Big Unknown." The band have been writing songs in New York and Paris and are hoping for a release on a yet-to-be determined label next year.

Sciubba has also been writing songs on her own, which she will debut at a solo performance at New York's Joe's Pub on October 26. "I wrote these in last 12 months," she told Billboard. "A style I baptized EuroNova...I will sing and play them on my baby guitar."