Latin Chill Out

With spring in full swing and the summer months looming ever closer, you're going to need the proper soundtrack for when the sun sinks and temperatures drop. Here's a suitable start: the galloping, percussive workout of "Mirando de Lado"; the bossa nova groove of "Las Lycras del Avila"; the seductive minimalism of "Deixa"; the French promenade stomp of "Homme"; and the dust-encased, sample patchwork of "Mirando a las Muchachas."

Yeah, it's getting late, but that doesn't mean you have to flip your consciousness off to a lullaby of chirping beats and chanteuse vocals. Koop's remix of Astrud Glberto is mid-tempo postmodernism leaning toward the lounge pop side, "Tengo la Voz" is a tumbling haystack of horns, "Great Spot" turns to midnight techno, and "I Know What You Like…" is a paranoid piece of lockstep piano chords, punchy drums, and sweet nothings that resemble the cracked compositions of Serge Gainsbourg.

With the clock striking midnight, you have two options: 1) hit stop on the stereo and retire early, or 2) embrace the evening with these 25 parting shots. May we suggest leaning toward the latter, for it's rarely this nice out? "Tijuana for Dummies" is an avalanche of drumbeats, "Ease Your Mind" is smooth jazz-gone-global and frantic, "Cornman" is an odd but perfecto pairing of disco and post-punk, and "Postales" is pre-approved for 1 a.m. skinny-dipping sessions.

Some of us can't afford a spring exodus to Cancun or the Caribbean. How about the next best thing, at least in terms of music? That'd be this collection of late-night Latin grooves, featuring velvet-lined vocalists (Bebel Gilberto, Andrea Echeverri, Ana Laan), dance-floor futurists (Kinky, Nortec Collective, Mexican Institute of Sound), lightly chilled lounge conductors (Gotan Project, Thievery Corporation, Federico Aubele), and a grab bag of pop oddities (Plastilina Mosh, Ojos de Brujo, Senor Coconut & His Orchestra).