Artist: El Trio Album: Siempre Que Hay Un Corazon (2007) Label: Tumaiditamadre Records Website: http://www.myspace.com/eltrio Reviewer: Bill Knispel

Track List: 1 Cancion De Los Callos 2 Crisalida 3 Como Un Mensaje 4 Te Quiero Para... 5 Otro Muerto 6 A Medio Vivir 7 Elastica 8 Punto Aparte 9 Mas Elastica 10 Vaina De Aqui 11 Va A Llover... 12 Cancion De Lulu El Trio is a young group of musicians hailing from Santiago in the Dominican Republic. Fittingly, their sound is filled to the brim with infectious Latin beats, passionate vocals, and a penchant for jazzy, island inflected blues. Their CDBaby page states that they have “a serious following and a reputation as one of the country's most innovative bands formed by some of the most accomplished young musicians in the rock scene.” Listening to the 12 tracks on their debut release, Siempre Que Hay Un Corazon, I can understand that. The material is enjoyable, song based, with good playing from the core trio, as well as their guests, who add an array of additional tonal colours and sounds to a collection of material that might sound somewhat overly samey without it. And therein lies the rub. Even taking into account the addition of violin, trumpet, French horn, or what have you, there is a consistency here that becomes somewhat of a detriment rather than a strength. It’s all well written, well played, played with integrity and fire, and yet...I can honestly say that I don’t remember a single riff or melodic line or anything after the disc stops spinning. It’s not the language barrier; even though the lyrics are sung in Spanish, I can accept them as another musical voice or tonal colour. I don’t need to know what Jonas is singing to enjoy the material..and if I did, well, there’s either Babelfish or my wife, depending on what or who is more convenient at the time. Maybe it’s a lack of connection on a deeper musi-cultural level...perhaps one who is not of Latin descent simply cannot grok the deeper spiritual meaning and power lurking under the funky grooves and horn-drenched material. I don’t know. What I do know is that this is good stuff...it’s just not my cup of tea...or maybe more appropriately, not my shot of Ron Brugal. This is not to say that the musicians are not bringing it; far from it. Jonas is a passionate singer, to be sure...it drips from every word or sustained syllable he sings. His guitar playing shows him to be no neophyte player either. Pablo Pena is a very fluid drummer, adding tons of percussion flourish and flair to the songs. His grooves are infectious, his drumming playful and light. You can’t fake playing like this...too heavy, and the groove becomes lugubrious and ponderous. Pablo’s playing certainly isn’t that. Meanwhile, Kilvin Pena’s bass playing helps keep those grooves going...his is the pulsing heart at the core of El Trio that keeps the blood flowing. Yet, somehow...the music simply doesn’t connect. It doesn’t resonate. It doesn’t fill me with a burning desire to get up and dance. But don’t let my review scare you off. I encourage you to check out the band’s Myspace or CDBaby website, where you can sample their sound before you buy. Maybe for you, the merengue-informed sound that Jonas and the Penas has whipped up will hit you in ways it didn’t for me. Band Members: Pablo Pena – drums, backing vocals Kilvin Pena – bass guitar, backing vocals Jonas – vocals, guitar, sax and keyboards Guests: Ivan Batista – guitar, backing vocals Eliezer Ramirez – bongos, tambora Miguel Andres Tejada – organ Patrico Bonilla – trombone Jorge Luis Mateo – trumpet Johandy Urena – percussion Willy Cruz – French horn Ivanova Casimiro – violin Raymond Felix – cello