Tommy Guerrero - Soul Food Taqueria
(Mo Wax)
This is some smooth music. The kind that moves at its own pace because it does not have to move one bit faster, not for nobody. And the title should be taken seriously. This is hip-hop infected Latin soul. I don't mean bling-bling and out of control vocal trills. I mean raw street beats, bass from the heart, and guitar so smoky and smooth it's like mole. Like stripped down Curtis Mayfield. Like Buena Vista Social Club played by hip kids.
The music is a delicious mix, both from track to track and within each song. "Organism" has humming keyboards, bouncing guitars and sideways organs dancing on a bedrock of bass and around old fashioned style drum machine beats. "Tatanka" has layers and layers of guitars, some muted and picked, some dripping reverb, some burning with distortion, all following their own groove, yet perfectly in sync with the beats that manage to be both nimble and laid back at the same time. It's a masterpiece of an arrangement. And, for the kids, we get Blackalicious' Lyrics Born providing guest vocals on the supreme groove of "Gettin It Together"—from the syncopated organs that occasionally blat perfectly out of tune, the rolling drums that pop just right, the clean guitars that bounce between rapid strum and sustain, this is old fashioned soul like grandma used to make.
Not every track hits those highs, and, as often is the case with largely instrumental recordings; the less inspired tracks tend to blend together. That does not change the fact, however, that Guerrero stands out from the pack. He is not showy, is often understated, and lets the music lead. He is making new music the old fashioned way: soul that comes from the heart and is heard by the heart.
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