The Golden Lagoon

King Lagoon's Flying Swordfish Dance Band (henceforth referred to as KLFSDB for the sake of trees and inkwells everywhere) present their first LP, which fuses soukous guitar, rumba bass, cumbia percussion and the sort of heavy brass you hear in electro-swing. The opening track (placed after a 40-second intro of birdsong, thunderclaps and rainforest soundscape) is a highly danceable, near-eight-minute epic. The arrangements develop and move forward nicely, but I couldn't help but find the rather nasal vocals jarring, along with the fact that Portuguese lyrics are pronounced with a British accent, which might frustrate some Lusophone readers.

KLFSDB's use of surdo figures from samba and maracatu played without any swing (an integral aspect of much Brazilian music) is disappointing. Each track comprises a swathe of styles – you can point out five or six contrasting features from around the globe at any one time – and it is impossible to appreciate what I'm sure are very informed influences when they're all happening at once. However, if you just want to dance around, carefree, in a festival field, this tropical rainbow of styles might be your thing.