Island Life (CD - 2005)

Additional personnel: Peret (vocals, acoustic guitar); El Cigala, Fulanito, Joe Bataan, Orishas, Ajay Naidu, Celia Cruz (vocals); Les Nubians, M1 (rap vocals); John Leguizamo, Montse Cortés, Rossy DePalma (spoken vocals); El Nino Josele (acoustic guitar); Ile Aiye (percussion).

With their unique blend of Latin music, hip-hop, R&B, and pop, Yerba

Buena made a big splash with their debut album, PRESIDENT ALIEN. While avoiding Rock en Espanol cliches, the follow-up, ISLAND LIFE, boasts a pan-Latin sound that bespeaks the musicians' familiarity with the traditions of Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and more. The pace is generally frenetic throughout the album, and the vibe a steamy one, as percussion, horns, and guitar vie for attention on one percolating, polyrhythmic workout after another. Unlike many Latin acts that have made the crossover to a wider audience, Yerba Buena never seems to be pandering to the gringo market. Only a couple of tracks, the suggestive "Sugar Daddy" and the equally salacious "Bilingual Girl," feature English-language vocals, and there are no tacky rock trappings grafted on. The eclecticism of ISLAND LIFE depends most heavily on the

aforementioned variety of Latin musical roots, though there are

undercurrents of funk, reggae and, at one point, a bit of Fela Kuti-style Afrobeat. Uncompromising but completely accessible, ISLAND LIFE moves further down the inroads Yerba Buena made with PRESIDENT ALIEN. minimize