Want to traverse the alt-rock/electro/Latin landscape? Eight albums give you a sonic tour
Some of the most intriguing contemporary music continues to come out of the Spanish- and Portuguese-language world, where combining alternative rock and electronica with traditional Latin rhythms has led to an often intoxicating fusion. It's sometimes known as "alt Latin," a broad umbrella that covers a variety of musical graces and sins, but this spring and summer have seen the release of some noteworthy contenders.
The English-speaking world is starting to pay attention, as evidenced by the roster of guest performers on some of the discs: Elvis Costello, Nelly Furtado, Sean O'Hagan (of High Llamas) and John McEntire (Tortoise). There's even an annual Latin Alternative Music Conference. The performers are from all over the map - Mexico, Spain, Brazil, even Canada. The language barrier might be impenetrable at points - some tracks may be in English, others not - but the musical spirit needs no translation.
THE PINKER TONES "Wild Animals" (4 of 5 stars)
Barcelona's playful Pinker Tones just might be the most eclectic group to play America's Warped Tour, which they're doing this summer. Singing mostly in English (with touches of French and Spanish), the twosome ranges from straight-up Kraftwerk electro ("S.E.X.Y.R.O.B.O.T.") and summertime Caribbean grooves ("The Whistling Song") to goofy, Latinized Daft Punk ("Electrotumbao") and shout-along, hands-in-the-air club anthems ("Fugaz"). They're reminiscent of Air with a more lively sense of humor.
It's eclectic: Liking one track doesn't mean you'll find the next one similarly appealing. But that's the risk this band runs for not being boring.
If you like this, try: Air, Daft Punk, Chromeo
In stores: now
ALLISON, "Memorama" (2 stars)
This Mexican quartet is less remarkable for its music than for what it represents: emo. In Mexico, the music's enthusiasts have been under attack by fans of other types of rock; it has led to violence from Mexico City to Tijuana. Allison is one of the genre's standard-bearers south of the border.
"Memorama" doesn't seem like the kind of album to incite such a reaction. Falling on the heavier side of the emo spectrum (think "My Chemical Romance"), Allison translate all the appropriate American musical cues without missing a beat. There's even a lyrical reference to MySpace.
There are some sturdy hooks here, as on "Atentamente: Yo," and it's all well played. But aside from the language and the cultural context, there's not much here that hasn't been heard before.
If you like this, try: My Chemical Romance, Yellowcard
In stores: now
BAJOFONDO, "Mar Dulce" (4 stars)
Argentine-born/California-based Gustavo Santaolalla is a rock en espanol pioneer, having produced groundbreaking albums by Cafe Tacuba, Juanes and Julieta Venegas. But he has also worked with non-Latin acts, from the classical Kronos Quartet to moper-in-chief Morrissey. He's also an Oscar-winning composer, scoring soundtracks for "Babel," "Brokeback Mountain," "21 Grams" and "The Motorcycle Diaries."
During his down time, he works on solo albums and this side project, known as Bajofondo, in which he gets to plumb his South American roots and give them a modern twist. Bajofondo uses the mournful strains of the tango and other rhythms from Argentina and Uruguay, and blends them with jazz, hip-hop, trip-hop and dance grooves.
Santaolalla's efforts have a special resonance, especially on "Mar Dulce" (translates as "sweet sea"), which builds and expands on the ideas of the first Bajofondo album. It even includes a few special guests such as Elvis Costello, Nelly Furtado and Gustavo Cerati of the popular Argentinian group Soda Stereo.
The Costello track ("Fairly Right") is an album highlight, a sweeping, six-minute, accordion-and-violin-kissed ballad that echoes what it must be like walking in Buenos Aires on a rainy day. It acts as a pensive counterpoint to the two versions of the buoyantly up-tempo and just a bit gimmicky international club hit "Pa' Bailar."
If you like this, try: Moby's instrumental tracks, Enigma, Deep Forest
In stores: now
JULIETA VENEGAS, "MTV Unplugged" (4 stars)
Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas has earned a heady reputation for heartfelt pop that teeters among Suzanne Vega, Bjork and Joni Mitchell - if they sang in Spanish. On an album recorded with a string and horn section in front of a worshipful live audience in Mexico City, Venegas strips away the electrification of old favorites and new songs, revealing a sunny melodic grace balancing on a cloud of accordion, banjo, ukulele and trumpet.
She also gets help from a varied group of musicians representing opposing ends of the spectrum: Gustavo Santaolalla on banjo, Brazilian producer Jaques Morelenbaum on cello, Spanish rapper Mala Rodriguez and Brazilian singer Marisa Monte.
A DVD of the performance, also titled "MTV Unplugged," is available.
If you like this, try: Colbie Caillat, Bjork, Joni Mitchell
In stores: now
SIDESTEPPER, "The Buena Vibra Sound System" (3 stars)
The title of this infectious album sounds like a sly tip of the hat to the "Buena Vista Social Club," the group of Havana musical luminaries assembled by producer Ry Cooder that revived interest in a particularly romantic brand of Cuban traditionalism. Like BVSC, Sidestepper is the brainchild of a non-Latin producer (England's Richard Blair) who has put together a group of Latin vocalists/musicians (in this case, Colombian).
Unlike BVSC, though, the Sidestepper sound is completely up-to-date, blending Colombian rhythms with house, chill-out, hip-hop, dub and African grooves. And as "The Buena Vista Sound System" features several remixes of older tracks like "Hoy Tenemos" and "Sidestepper," there's a definite emphasis on up-tempo rhythms.
Yet Sidestepper has a very organic feel, as if these guys are just some two-turntables-and-a-microphone sound system that plays at a Bogota street fair.
If you like this, try: Ry Cooder, David Byrne
In stores: Aug. 5
PACIFIKA, "Asuncion" (3 stars)
Peruvian-born/Canadian-based singer Silvana Kane leads this Vancouver trio through a set of jazz-inflected, muted Afro-Latin grooves that's like a fusion of Sade and Bebel Gilberto. Singing in both Spanish and English, Kane and the rest of her group conjure a multi-ethnic dreamscape that runs from pastoral (Cuatro Hijas) to pop (Chiquita).
If you like this, try: Bebel Gilberto, Sade, Sting, Zero 7
In stores: now
KASSIN + 2, "Futurismo" (3 stars)
This is the third in the "+2" series started by Moreno Veloso (the son of Brazilian musical pioneer Caetano Veloso) and the rest of his trio, Domenico Lancelotti and Alexandre Kassin. The first album, Moreno + 2's "Music Typewriter" (2001), possesses a quiet, electro-folk feel, while Domenico + 2's "Sincerely Hot" (2004) is more funky and up-tempo.
Kassin + 2's "Futurismo" falls in the middle, beginning with an indie-inspired, loungey take on traditional Brazilian bossa nova, samba and tropicalia. But by track No. 6, things start veering into left field with the tense "Ponto Final." By the time Kassin ends the disc with his collaborations with the High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan on the rough-hewn yet exquisite English-language lo-fi pop gem "Lake Line" and Tortoise's John McEntire on "Bow Road," he has made quite the musical tour.
If you like this, try: Nouvelle Vague, Pinback
In stores: now
PLASTILINA MOSH, "All U Need Is Mosh" (2 stars)
Monterrey, Mexico's, Plastilina Mosh started out as a mostly Spanish-language, Beck-ish electro-funk duo with a giddy sense of humor.
Since then, they've steadily added more members, more rock elements, more English and a sloppier, punkish, everything-goes attitude, culminating in the latest album, the maddeningly erratic "All U Need Is Mosh." They crank up the rock on "Let U Know" and "Cut the Crap," coming across like just another noisy garage band.
Thankfully, some of the old weirdness survives; there's even a rap tribute to ubiquitous Mexican-American character actor Danny Trejo.
These guys have always been all over the place but "All U Need Is Mosh" - self-produced in Mexico, California and Tornillo, Texas, over two years - is not as consistently entertaining as previous efforts.
If you like this, try: Beck, Kinky
In stores: Aug. 5
