his is an official first during my stay here at Splendid -- a press release that's not only coherently written, but communicative and helpful! Beyond waxing metaphorical about Band X's "inner journey" in sound, or the like! Granted, I needed the extra help with Bio Ritmo, a nine-member Latin dance band from LA who specialize in salsa -- just the sort of hip-swinging strain of music I implicitly agreed to ignore once Pearl Jam came calling in junior high. And for everyone else who, when they think of salsa, can only conjure up an image of Desi Arnaz yelling at Lucille Ball (with pineapple on head) -- no, Bio Ritmo isn't "Copacabana" all over again, but the band's self-described effort to forge the lean and vital salsa of a decades-ago "Golden Age" with bandleader Rei Alvarez's moody, modern and decidedly unsentimental muse.

And by all accounts, it's a complete success. The band's muscular rhythmic attack is mesmerizing -- never sultry like a picture-perfect Cuban postcard, but crisp and cool like the street life in an actual barrio. Alvarez and his players favor minor keys on all of these eight tracks, with the exception of the relatively bright-hued opener "El Monte", and every expertly arranged brass interlude (no strings are attached here) is, remarkably, both expressive and subtle. A track like "La Hamaca" might stack its horn jabs on top of a steady undercurrent of piano octaves, but the brass is scattered enough to sound sarcastic instead of bombastic -- mirroring Alvarez's casual, tossed-off laugh at the end of the song. Here and everywhere else, the singer's delivery affects a light vibrato but sounds almost punk in its clear-eyed nonchalance. Occasional experimental touches -- in "El Cambio"'s brushed piano strings or "Para Los Romperos"'s awesomely subtle free-jazz guitar solo -- show a band not afraid of playing around with conventions. Neither are they afraid of bearing any emotion. The last half of the album, particularly "Hermano" and the gorgeously pensive, slow-burning rhumba "El Rayito", use their minimal combination of horns, drums and piano to create something like a Latin version of indie-boy soulbaring (a much more tasteful version, to be sure).

So if you've ever lectured yourself on your own homogenous tastes or felt the vague need to get in touch with other musical cultures but were afraid you'd unwittingly hit a stink bomb, now's your chance. Bio Ritmo shows off a musical tradition as rich and rewarding as jazz, while boasting a modern polish and an easy learning curve for rock fans. You don't have to shake your hips to enjoy this one, but pleasurable head-bobbing is a definite requirement.