Clear some room for DOS SANTOS ANTI-BEAT ORCHESTRA from Chicago. Definitively Latin-tinged, it’s hard to pin an exact genre or sub-genre on the group. For their new 7” on Electric Cowbell, the label picked three songs off of their recent EP Fonografic that highlight their instrumental muscle and delivers groovy Chicano-noir atmospherics simmering atop a boiling pot of cowbells, congas, and timbales. The band's signature formula of guitar-heavy, percussion-driven sounds moves further into the fierce sonic terrain of traditional Latin rhythms and hard-hitting funk and soul. Side A’s “Cafeteando” is a dubbed out descarga that nods to an imagined meeting in the lab between a young Willie Colon and Mad Professor. “Camino Infernal/Phantom Weight” on the B-side percolate as a B-movie action sequence of a nail-biting chase scene. The sound is at once an urgent, uptempo psychedelic cumbia complete with twangy, reverb-drenched guitar then halfway through resolves itself into a commanding strut of Latin funk badassery that vacillates between time signatures yet never steps out the deep groove trench that these lads dig. These are heavyweight vintage salsa, and organic cumbia vibes that will surprise you at every turn. Essential hot sauce for your record tote!
