Circular Colectivo

Maldita Vecindad – Circular Colectivo
Reviewed by Sadie O., 4/26/10
Fine Latin Ska/Punk/Mexican mashup from Mexico City, with lots of energy and apparently politically-tinged lyrics (all in Spanish). Very listenable, very danceable. Wish I spoke Spanish at a better than retarded kindergarden level – sounds like they’re up to something interesting. Anyway, sounds great.
FCCs? I didn’t catch any, but I only know a few… It’s all bitchen.
1. 3:32 ***uptempo jangly pop intro, into rather heroic-sounding Latin Ska.
2. 4:03 ****groovy midtempo ska, upbeat.
3. 4:06 **salsa, a bit of mariachi, a lot of pop, highly listenable. Cool sax solo.
4. 4:27 ***uptempo funky bass, complex beat but very swingy and insistent. Interesting combinations of sounds throughout.
5. 3:24 ***upbeat mashup of norteno and ska – fun.
6. 3:39 ****terriful midtempo Latin funk. A bit of dub with hyperspeed loudspeaker announcements.
7. 4:10 ***Afro-Cuban groove with floating female vocals, impassioned male vocals. Pretty, jazzy piano solo with a ska back beat.
8. 3:57 **horror movie dialog and theremin intro, uptempo galloping ska. Back to horror movie for last 30 secs.
9. 5:10 **uptempo Latin mashup with a bit of hard rock guitar and a bit of accordion and… banjo, I think. LOTS of energy, a fair amount of roots instrumentation and feel.
10. 4:29 ****groovy slinky syncopation, minor key guitar, ska back beat, a bit of bluesiness, instrumental. Viva Santo?
11. 5:34 ***midtempo cha cha, great bounce. Some lovely female vocals in addition to the regular male vocal gang.
12. 4:48 ****orchestra tuning up intro, then crazed ska-polka of the damned with a deeply and profoundly disturbed sax. What would you expect from a title like Lunatic Dance?
13. 4:31 ***midtempo groovy ska-cumbia, pretty, and relaxed compared to the previous track.