Kinky

The thing about Kinky's third studio album is that, musically speaking, it's not particularly, well, kinky. Granted, the Monterrey hipster outfit's moniker has always implied playfulness more than out-there sexuality, but Barracuda (which doesn't appear to contain much of its titular fierceness either) is more mellow and groove-oriented than kicky or kinky. Which is not to say the album isn't blazing hot here and there: "Diablo Azul" burns slow and sensual, while "Papel Volando" is pretty scorching -- in a too-cool-for-school, hipster kind of way, that is.

Four albums in, these Mexican electro rockers remain ruthlessly consistent in both ends
(party hearty!) and means (dance beats, as many, and as booming, as possible). At Kinky's
ferocious live shows, it's a winning formula. On record, though, the band's manic mash-ups
of rock and Eighties synth pop and Latin dance rhythms can be ham-fisted, and the inane
party chants — "Those girls!/That's what you want!" — add little to the proceedin... More >