Peru Bravo

This latest offering of 60s and 70s Peruvian psychedelia showcases the work of a handful of bands who stylishly combined rock and jazz percussion, tropical timbres and occasion clavé rhythms with American R&B, funk and Hendrix-style electric guitar extravagance. Laghonia's ‘Bahía’, which opens the album, is a spaced-out garage rock song with a wickedly warped, high-pitched guitar to the fore. Next comes Traffic Sound's ‘La Camita’, a laid-back funk number with flute and horns and a more suavely Latin vocal. Between these extremes are 13 other soulful songs. One of the most mesmerising is ‘Everything's Gonna Change’ by Jean Paul ‘El Troglodita’, in which a long flirtatious foreplay of lounge piano, sultry brass and funky bass finally peaks with a soaring, cosmic vocal. ‘Cacique’ by Cacique is a frantic, organ-led instrumental that works itself up into a mad guitar solo. There are also some cool covers, including Jeriko's version of ‘Hey Joe’. Unfortunately, Peru's generals preferred folk and cumbia, and it was they who got to choose the DJs that ruled Peru's airwaves. But this hustling Hispanic sound is as cool as anything from the other America.