Mexican Sessions Our Simple Sensational Sound

Album Review

It's very tempting to go out on a limb and say that during the mid-2000s Up, Bustle and Out are the most exciting dance music collective releasing music in any genre. No matter what genre or style they experiment with, they manage simultaneously to do honor to its traditions while also creating music that is undeniably their own. For their eighth album, they traveled to Monterrey, Mexico, and collaborated with the Control Machete hip-hop crew; the result is some kind of deliriously funky cumbia-hip-hop-reggae-dub fusion that simmers and bubbles with a constantly changing but consistently brilliant heat. Turntablism, dubwise sound effects, Latin percussion, rap en español, and Jamaican toasting are all woven through the fabric of this wonderful album, and there is literally not a single boring or even underwhelming track. Particular highlights include the turntable-fueled dancehall strut of "Mi Chat Latin," the smoky Spanish dub-hop flavor of "Genio del Dub," the swaying minimalist funk of "Tinto Tintero," and Kabanjak's Latin-reggae remix of "Corazón del León." It simply doesn't get much better than this.