Como Lo Ves

With their selection box of various Latin styles, Lariba are another border-erasing product of music’s global village. The eight-piece – four Cubans, a Mexican, a Sicilian, a Brazilian and a single representative from their Swiss base – make good use of their respective backgrounds. Hip-hop-strengthened son rubs up alongside some wonderfully stuttering cumbia, while roof-raising reggaeton dissolves into booming samba–reggae. And they’re not immune to slipping into the evening wear of smooth Copacabana jazz – see ‘Baiao De Lacan’. This debut contains plenty to recommend, its backbone being the Cuban elements. The rolling piano supplies plenty of propulsion, particularly on the title-track and on the spiralling ‘Maricela’, a track that also features some lithe tres guitar playing. Elsewhere the band’s rappers are committed and enthusiastic, their best turn being the closer, ‘Carta A La Habana,’ that instantly recalls Cuba’s best-known rapping ex-pats Orishas.

But while Lariba’s versatility is one of their trump cards, it’s also their weakness. They shuffle the pack too readily, shifting styles with each new song when you’d really like them to linger a little longer in one place. The variety of singers and languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and English) ultimately blurs the band’s identity when it should be pin-sharp. There’s no doubting the taste and talent among their ranks – and they’d make a solid prospect for any festival programmers wanting some Latin spark on their roster. It’s just that Como Lo Ves is the sound of one too many bets being hedged.