Cumbancha (label)
21 March 2011 (released)
01 March 2011
A virtually unclassifiable album – part salsa, part reggae, part rap, part political Polemic.
The title translates as ‘Time & Time Again’ and he sings of “Walking Down The Streets Of my Soul, The Strange Labyrinth Of My Solitude” and the opening track brims with a swaggering confidence in the music and questioning tremble in the vocal. Pounding chords and a strident trumpet coupled to a massively danceable rhythm.
The good Sergent is nothing if not a wordsmith but the music keeps up with his marching vocal and the whole thing has an air of street party about it.
Second track is more purely Salsa, ‘Yo Soy Salsamuffin’ (I am Salsamuffin) and he gives a hard-assed rap against some stunning Colombian Dancehall Latin. Then he mixes in a Rock Song ‘Chacun Son Combat’ (Everyone Has Their Battles), probably the most openly political song on the album and recalling his days in alternative music.
By now you get the impression that this guy has a great deal of different styles in his armoury and that he isn’t afraid of letting us see all his tricks.
He duets with different bands and adapts himself to their ways and styles and this is probably the only weakness of the album as it begins to sound like a compilation set rather than an album by one man – on the other hand it is a very good compilation album!
When this is at its best it is very fine but there are a few tracks that just feel a little corny and old fashioned (as opposed to retro) but the album is probably worth getting for the wonderful ‘Acho Bai Bai’ on its own.
