Being an album of traditional flamenco puts this offering in the realm of somewhat sparser, more instrumentally focused music. The album opens with a bang of modern rhumba flamenco (in the vein of the
Gipsy Kings), full of vocals and drive. After that (and a solo guitar piece from
Andres Fernandez Amador), the album turns to a slightly more isolated sound. The guitarists focus more on picking than strumming, there's intricacy where there was previously power. There are deliberate sounds of stepping rather than palm claps. The group performs admirably, driven by history and tradition and missing nary a note. The sound has perhaps less drama, less emotion than the greats (Manitas de Plata,
Camaron de la Isla), but it's a fine outing nonetheless. Worth a spin, but geared more for flamenco aficionados rounding out some sounds than for newcomers looking for the greatest sound. ~ Adam Greenberg