Sol Azul

On the strength of the dance floor hit "Encanto” — a tasty slice of Latin action — this is the product of five years of work by Toronto-based D’Arcy McGuire, alongside vocalist Rubi. On the negative side, there’s nothing here that sounds like it would have needed five years to create, but then on the plus side, albums that take so long are usually ponderously, self-indulgently awful, something which can’t be said here. There’s a heavy Latin break beat funk, down-tempo and drum & bass, reminiscent of Zero dB and comparable in quality, which is saying something. Backed up by an army of local names (Mista D of the Salads and Sincere among others) the formula avoids getting tired across the styles and keeps up the level of songwriting throughout. If you’re not into summery, Brazillian drum & bass, you’ll want to avoid the 4 Visionary mixes at disc’s end, but for the rest of us, it’s worth more than a casual glance.