Mezcla

This mezcla (mix) of Colombian energy and New York savvy promises much, but delivers even more. To their native Afro-Colombian rhythms, this expatriate eight-piece band have added a twist or two of punk, hip-hop and jazz to fashion something as raw, tight, visceral and exciting as a born-again Sly & the Family Stone. The comparison is not an idle one. The blaring horns, ringing guitar, sci-fi keyboards and declamatory vocals of ‘Positivo’ spell it out. There's no hint of any immigrant uncertainty here; the urgency and confidence of Liliana Conde's excellent lead vocals on numbers such as ‘Agua’ characterise the band's no-holds-barred approach. There's so much to like. ‘Happy Hour’ lurches crazily like an unsteady reveller. ‘What do You Wish For’ is a chunk of brazen funk. ‘La Haitiana’ and ‘La Inevitable’ are glorious cuts of souped-up cumbia. The current single, ‘Thank You, Thank You’, is as fast and frantic as the car chase in The French Connection.

MAKU Soundsytem's fourth album takes the listener on a headlong ride through their adopted Nuyorican neighbourhood that will leave you breathless but exhilarated – before you scurry off to find their other releases.