COMBO LULO Vinilo y CD

Review: On their 2018 double A-side single, "Atlantico/Canto Del Sol", Brooklyn-based seven-piece Combo Lulo gleefully joined the dots between Jamaican rocksteady and South American Afro-Latin music. "The Sieve & The Sand", their sophomore single, is an altogether different proposition, though their love and knowledge of Caribbean and Latin American music remains at the forefront. On the A-side "Part 1" version, the band layers fluttering flutes and fuzz-soaked guitars atop a bounding ska rhythm, offering a breezy and sun-kissed take on one of Jamaica's most popular musical styles. Arguably even better is "Part 2", where the band's intoxicating, woodwind style motifs lazily float above a deep, head-nodding dub reggae groove.

Review: 50 years ago Panamanian vocalist Ralph Weeks released his most celebrated record, a seductive soul song called "Something Deep Inside". Here he resurfaces on Names You Can Trust, backed by label-mates Combo Lulo, with two new versions of that sweet and seductive song. A-side "Algo Muy Profundo" is a Spanish language version of the song, with Combo Lulo providing a superb hybrid reggae-soul backing track onto which Weeks delivers a superb lead vocal. While brilliant, we'd argue that the flipside English language re-recording is even better, with Weeks' silky smooth and emotionally rich vocal being a perfect match for the band's pie-eyed, slow motion rhythm.