Rodrigo y Gabriela and C.U.B.A. – Area 52

The latest twist in Mexican acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela's unpredictable career – which has taken in folk, Latin and rock styles, and most recently saw them producing the soundtrack to the latest Pirates of the Caribbean film with Hans Zimmer – is probably the most audacious yet: a reworking of nine songs using a full Cuban orchestra. It's a project that “works”, insofar as pieces like Ixtapa prove particularly well-suited to the bombastic brass and percussion that dominates.

 

While experimentation is always to be welcomed, however, it can lead to a lack of focus: Rodrigo y Gabriela are so exuberantly eager to pursue ideas that the personality of their compositions is often lost beneath C.U.B.A.'s baroque arrangements. Consequently, while Area 52 is bold, imaginative and will no doubt captivate those of a muso persuasion, it for the most part feels more like flashy, superficial background music than an album which demands close engagement.