The thing about electronic dance music these days is that the genres and subgenres have proliferated to the point that it doesn't make much sense anymore for a band to proclaim that it is "breaking the boundaries of club music." What meaningful boundaries still exist? If it's funky and electronic, it's club music. So the chest-thumping bravado in evidence on
Trio Eletrico's website isn't that exciting, and it's also unnecessary -- this music stands very nicely on its own, regardless of whether it's innovative or groundbreaking. In fact, only the most dedicated club music aficionado will hear anything out of the ordinary on this album, which does do an unusually good job of combining jazz, house, dub, and breakbeat elements into a coherent whole, without diluting the power of any those constituent parts. Thus, the swinging flute and minimalist vocals create a subtle and elegant groove on the title track; "Por Donde Vas" marries Latin lyrics to a strutting funk groove and tasteful turntablist flourishes; "Cry Baby" is reggae with jazzy organ and deeply messed-up vocal samples. Great stuff, and highly recommended to all beat junkies and acid jazzheads. ~ Rick Anderson