Are you Lunatico enough for The Gotan Project?
Everyone has heard The Gotan Project. Many listeners may not have heard of the act but tracks from their debut album 'La Revancha Del Tango' have featured on adverts, soundtracks and TV shows the world over. Every so often, world music and the fusion of traditional and modern merge superbly and the first record was timed to perfection and sparked a major interest at the time of release. With the release of 'Lunatico', it remains to be seen whether its déjŕ vu all over again.
First things first, its time for this writer to be honest, The Gotan Project would be one of the very few acts that he got into after being badgered about them by his ex-flatmate. And on initial listens, the tracks with some life and vigour to them were great, almost as if someone had slipped something potent into the Buena Vista Social Clubs rum and got them hooked up to some electronic drum beats. After a while, the novelty and glory of these efforts dipped and the more laid-back tracks would drag more and more and after time, the record lost some of its sparkle.
On early listens, although its easy to fall in love with a track like 'Notas' with its stuttering beat complimenting a jazz like twist and swoons beside the Latino-vocals (and you will), the nagging feeling remains that in three to four months time, this record will be gathering dust alongside all the other great at first type records.
This may be to miss the point entirely regarding The Gotan Project and it's also likely that it's aiming for a social background that this writer doesn't encompass. The light tinklings and torch-song vocals of 'Celos' are beautiful and would make the perfect backing to any dinner party or quiet gathering of friends who like to talk over the music without taking too much in.
The title track is a tango track that stabs in and out of the speakers and with the rhythmic feel of Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy' or the timeless suggestions of Giles Peterson being of a similar ilk, there is no way can it fail to win people over if they only give it a chance. The fact that its likely to be first heard soundtracking the latest US chick-com or a cookery show shouldn't take away from the quality of the track but it will psychologically limit how the listener reacts to and feels about the record.
The only thing that matters is the music and the only time that matters is now. On these two instances, 'Lunatico' has to be rated highly, it's a fantastically well played mix of diverse genres and it should appeal across the board, just like its predecessor. The only concern is when the listener outgrows the newness and inventiveness of the tracks but until then. Enjoy.