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Atlas
12/15/2003 3:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Ken Micallef
Tito Puente meets Daft Punk! This Monterrey, Mexico outfit mashes up frazzled South American rhythms and lusty folk melodies with the electronica machinations of the UK dance scene (before US electro came in vogue). Singing in Spanish and English, Kinky rocks out, freaks out and scorches the sky. As crazy rumba and samba rhythms storm distorted guitars and accordions it’s like a midnight ride south of the border with Jose Cuervo as your guide. “Salta-Lenin-El-Atlas” combines a nasty robo guitar riff and a disco beat with Vocoder vocals before tumbling over a cliff of timbale solos, cheesy organ and exploding effects. “Do U Like It” runs in full-on Hendrix mode; that is, if you can imagine the drugged out space guitarist playing with KC & the Sunshine Band. Guitars roar, percussion crashes, ghoulish voices howl above. But Kinky also know how to make it mellow as in the acoustic charm of “Maria Jose,” where gentle bossa nova guitar and whispered vocals dance with a fragrantly demented synth melody. If the world is indeed running down and we’re all destined to work in a Mexican sweatshop turning out Nikes, at least Kinky will be there to soften the blow.
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