Evaluating a soca compilation is always something of a challenge, because the music's formal structure is so strictly defined. There are those who say that all reggae sounds the same, but compared to soca, reggae offers a kaleidoscope of stylistic variety. That said, soca's single rhythm is a great one, and its relentless jump-up energy is intoxicating; taken in two- or three-track doses, a collection like this offers powerfully compelling party music. And several of the artists compiled here deserve kudos for trying to take the sound someplace slightly new: Patrice Roberts' "Looking Hot" is sung beautifully over an uncharacteristically spare and almost gentle groove, while Kenneth Salick's "Radica" hints at both reggae and bhangra while overusing the trendy Auto-Tune effects that are guaranteed to make this year's hits sound old-fashioned by late 2010. "Carnival Again," by
Biggie Irie, is the most calypso-flavored of the tracks here and also one of the best;
Edwin Yearwood's "Handle Ya Bizniz" is both bracingly high-energy and startlingly pretty. (Is the general tempo of soca getting faster every year? The BPM counts on these tracks all approach jungle/drum'n'bass territory.) There is one attempt at something like a ballad ("Jepp Sting Naina," credited to Kes, Ravi B, and Hunter), and while it falls rather flat it's still an admirable attempt at expanding soca's rigid stylistic boundaries. Overall, this disc offers significant pleasures but, like most soca collections, should probably be taken in measured doses. (A bonus DVD includes fairly raw footage of the festivities at a J'Ouvert celebration in Trinidad and Tobago -- there is a halfhearted attempt at narrative overlay, but the film consists primarily of dancers in the streets squirting paint on each other in the traditional manner and dancing -- often quite salaciously.) ~ Rick Anderson