Quantic And His Grupo Barbaro Tradition In Transition

Underline the word "transition." Will Holland has released a lot of music over the years incorporating grooves from around the world but he always maintained a sensibility that draws from hip-hop. With this album there is a shift in how he organizes his sound. Though Quantic has worked with plenty of live instrumentalists, this project exists as a fully realized band even before his production kicks in. The unity of sound is frequently breathtaking — the slow-burning boogaloo and soulful vocals of "Linda Morena" would never have unfolded so gradually and gracefully over eight minutes in his previous work. Peruvian-born pianist Alfredo Linares is as much a leader as Holland through most of this; his melodic and harmonic ingenuity gives tons of personality to these three-dimensional, organic grooves. To his credit, Holland also messes with the piano sound in most tracks, lending a post-modern nostalgia to the proceedings. While tracks like "Mambo Los Quantic" may lose beat-miners looking too hard for the funk, they will find much to love in the nasty "Cancao Do Deserto" and more. (Tru Thoughts)

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