Tremor

Although Buenos Aires' ZZK Collective popularized the no-nonsense sounds of Argentine electronic Cumbia over the last decade, their artists have often exhibited a range of organic and psychedelic sounds. Tremor possess a good deal of both. At turns Adam and the Ants meets the Lumineers, with a penchant for acidy synth sounds, the group too often back away from successful ideas in favour of abrupt transitions. "Galopeador Contra En Viento" features lovely, wordless Beach Boys harmonies and dubbed-out acoustic guitar — a frequent tactic. The custom-made drums sound authoritative and majestic, but the electronic ingredients have a drollness that interferes with the free-floating grooves, which are this unit's speciality. Single "Huella" features all of the group's best qualities: haunting vocals, undulating drums, a spacy atmosphere and an effective melodic hook. "Autobuzz" follows and destroys the vibe, with a jerky, New Romantic foppishness to the vocals and a jarring, Balkan-esque brass section in the middle. And so it goes: score a few points here, lose some there. There's no doubting the group's originality, and for that this album is more success than overreach.