A Gypsy Journey Part II: El Refugio

Mexico City-born El Javi humbly styles himself ‘The King of Rock Flamenco.’ The follow-up to an earlier EP called The Trip, this release is a musical ‘gracias’ to those who have given the big man shelter on his musical travels. He's a nimble enough flamenco guitarist, but the ‘rock’ element is a middle-of-the-road wash that, rather in the style of Rodrigo y Gabriela, seeks to please all and will probably not impress anyone.

Flamenco works its magic through jagged edges, jabbing arpeggios, startling caesura, crazy scales and exercises in intense introspection. When you throw in drums, electric bass, keyboards and the whole band thing, the melody either stumbles its way towards free jazz or gets trapped in riffs and repetitions. Over eight tracks, El Refugio does a bit of both, climaxing with Knopfleresque electric solos, devilish drum rolls or bending bass lines. El Javi is no doubt learned as well as committed – he captures the Gypsy spirit on ‘Colorado’, while ‘El Duelo’ proves he can sing using only his fingers. But he doesn't need a ‘refuge’ so much as a sense of direction.