WEDNESDAY'S REVIEW: GRUPO FANTASMA

Grupo Fantasma "Sonidos Gold" (Aire Sol/High Wire Music)

I'd be lying if I claimed to have the ability to tease-out the ultra-specific Latin influences in any particular Grupo Fantasma song; these Austin dudes say they dwell on salsa and cumbia, but it's obvious that the band's musical matéria prima is more encyclopedic. (They sing about food a lot, too.) So instead of dropping a few lame Fania references, I'll stick to what I know: I know power when I hear it. Maybe I'm a sucker for the "other" stuff that the band packs into Sonidos Gold -- including bordertown psychedelia ("Rumba y Guanguanco," "Cumbia de los Pajaritos"), cops-and-robbers funk ("Gimme Some"), and dance-rock that vaguely tickles the "Manchester" part of my brain ("Bacalao Con Pan"). But I'll be damned if the way-amateur musicologist (or the pop theorist) in me is more titillated than the rock 'n' roll junkie. Thus, the fun of Sonidos Gold isn't in its big-brain amalgamation of Afro-Caribbean roots or in its equally thoughtful indie-gringo crossover appeal. It's in the juice. It's harder than you think.

Sonidos Gold will be released June 17. The band plays the Black Cat on June 21.

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