Ah, Quantic… my old standby when other new releases aren’t doing it for me. A while ago I wrote in a review that Stereolab has always been one of those bands where I can usually expect any new release to meet some invisible standard of quality. It’s like playing any new Final Fantasy game; it might not be the best release you’ve heard throughout the year, but it’ll never feel like a disappointment. And likewise, you can usually take on faith that any new Quantic joints are going to be solid.

And then there’s Quantic Soul Orchestra, Quantic’s (aka. Will Holland’s) side project/live band, always bringing the classic sounds of deep funk, afrobeat, and latin rhythms. And the newest album, Tropidelico, is about as solid as anything else Holland touches. I’m told by my good friend Mr. Brown that Quantic actually recorded this album while living in Columbia, and it shows with heavy emphasis on the Latin sounds and less of the straight funk. And it’s still lovely. Lovely enough that I don’t really feel like I need to chat it up any more here, and can just go straight to the tunes.

And one throwback to the Stampede LP, from 2003 (though I believe the song was written and performed by Simon Green, aka. Bonobo):

And, hell, the original for posterity: