Pa el Agus y el Uli

This Argentinian orquesta típica – the classic tango band of ten or so players – is in fact atypical in the sense that leader Juan Pablo Navarro is a double bassist. There's no surprise, then, that his own compositions and arrangements of songs by Astor Piazzolla and Aníbal Troilo have crisp, fluid bass lines. Bandoneón (squeezebox), too, is often to the fore. Rather than merely following the action and filling in gaps, it either speak to us alone (much in the style of Eduardo Rovira's groundbreaking 1968 recording Sónico) or else generates a percussive, balletic pulse – as heard on the title-track, when it is a stranded solo instrument.

The overall effect is often poetic and meditative, and experiments in staccato give the sound an edge that is astringent and yet austere. It would all work as a whole, except that percussion, horns and strings are overly lush and generous in some sections, imbuing Pa el Agus y el Uli with a romanticism it doesn’t actually need. Somehow the mix of moods jars, and the sequence of songs seems to be unable to decide if it is seeking a contemporary post-Piazzolla sound or harking back to old dance-salon music.