Señor Flavio

Argentina’s Flavio Mandinga, one of the founding members of Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, has crafted a solo project that explores various sonic textures and defies genre classification. Simply listen to “Ministra,” a rocksteady-tempo track seemingly inspired by early UB40 with a touch of psychedelics. Later comes “Polaroid 66,” which draws from Brazilian ´80s rock via its soft guitar and drum patterns. Doo-wop tune “La Herida” brings further eclecticism, with bittersweet lyrics detailing the pain of a broken heart that will never mend. Then the album meanders into ´60s-style territory with the straight-ahead rocker “Oportuna.” Yet another highlight is “Cristina,” which contains elements of cumbia blended with electronic beats by DJ Bochokenado, who also guests on the bolero-tinged “Tropicana So.” In a CD with so many divergent tendencies, weaker moments are inevitable. “Retirada Murguera Porteña,” an instrumental track, completely fails to excite; the same goes with the rockabilly-inflected “De Story of De Loko.” But despite these two shortcomings, Supersaund 2012 is a pleasantly challenging work. Fans will likely take some time to get the album’s concept, but once that happens, the music might just stick for a long time.