Here is something fresh for you to put in your ears as you slide into R'nR mode this weekend- Los Esplifs is a Tucson-based project organized by Saul Millan and Caleb Michel. I say organized because it's clear that they are not working alone. In fact, on their debut, Estraik Back, it sounds like they've roped half the neighborhood into being their backing band. The album is a throwback to classic cumbia and Afro-Cuban rhythm groups, wound around mid-Century expressivism, and injected with the vigor of a rockin' block party. Even the gradual crawl, posh psych, and smokey Devil's hooka den roll of "Donde Esta El Monsoon?" has an irresistible groove that wouldn't be outlandish to hear on a King Khan and BBQ Show outtake. More typical, though, is the jump up and jitter of "Otro Pais" with its romancing melodies, group chants, and live-wire tight-rope guitar twirls, as well as the surfy Caribian clammer of"Galaxia," and rhythm-driven, call and response anchored "Un Solo Golpe," a song which has the semblance of an energizing, collectivist after-party, lit exclusively by fire-light. The more exploratory tracks like the kosmische-powered "TeknoCumbia" with its belches and bends, and the goosed up and tipsy "Cumbia de Oli" (the latter of which resembles something like samba slapstick) don't fail to grab the ear and inspire the hips either. Like I said at the start, if you needed a party record for this weekend, you'd be doing yourself dirty if you skipped over Estraik Back.
