Meridian Brothers & Grupo Renacimiento

It’s hard to think of too many bands that can be as divisive as Meridian Brothers. They share the same passion for Colombia’s golden age of tropical music as local allies Frente Cumbiero and Romperayo, but they set themselves apart with their off-kilter interpretation of it, not to mention the comic lyrics and twisted vocals. These are all qualities that can be found on their latest, a concept salsa album involving a team-up with a supposed 70s salsa dura outfit called El Grupo Renacimiento, which turns out to be simply the work of Meridian Brothers’ Eblis Álvarez, who plays the whole ensemble here – maracas, piano, guitar… you name it.

The album is at its best on opener ‘La Policía’, a commentary on police brutality that maintains its groove despite sounding like a cat is walking across the turntable, and ‘Hipnosis’, an upbeat number marked by a fine montuno motif, and beautifully over-the-top chord progressions. Even if it sometimes feels like you’re at David Lynch’s favourite mezcaleria, there is so much heart on show, clear in Álvarez’s genuine admiration for salsa, and his socially-aware and stereotype-skewering lyrics, which make this so much more than an intellectual exercise.