is a successful fusion of some traditional elements of Puerto Rican music with more contemporary influences. Specifically, it draws heavily from the bomba rhythmic and percussive style, and the call-and-response-oriented topical song form, though it also bears the marks of and . It's a lengthy (75 minutes) album, which gives the musicians a chance to offer considerable variety within their loose ensemble format, though a good-natured, upbeat mood is maintained throughout. The shifting percussive rhythms might be the most distinctive feature, while call-and-response vocals also take central position on songs like Combined with the quick, roving, jazzy guitar patterns, this might sound to some ears like a somewhat Latinized version of some contemporary African music, though such similarities are attributable to both styles having evolved from similar sources. At times the aspects come more to the fore, while the more traditional aspects are accented on an update of a bomba chant, There's a little bit of both English and Spanish in but that's the only such interjection in an album that's very much grounded in Puerto Rican styles. ~ Richie Unterberger