Ozomatli: Embrace The Chaos : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Ozomatli is, without a doubt, a great concept -- an amped-up, multi-ethnic, boundary-obliterating, socially-conscious, musically-fluent dance party -- so why are they only occasionally a great band? Call it too much of a good thing. On their second album, there's no lack of energy or ideas, but, as the title unwittingly warns, the end result is a tad anarchic. Though Chaos is heavy on the same sorts of lively Latin rhythms and bursts of brass that colored Ozomatli's debut, the Los Angeles collective is willing to try almost anything. In spurts, that's refreshing: frenetic dance beats invigorate the salsa-rap fusion "Dos Cosas Ciertas," the Black Eyed Peas' Wil.I.Am lends deft rhymes to the dark, infectious, klezmer-hued "Vocal Artillery," and "Pensativo" is a beguiling, avant-jazz orchestration fit for a film-noir soundtrack. But taken together, Ozo's ambitious synthesis feels unfocused, short-circuiting any chance to make much of a lasting emotional impact. Proof that you need more than a lot of really cool sounds to make a really cool record.

DAVID PEISNER
(September 10, 2001)