Coconut Rock' goes for the soft sell

"COCOCNUT ROCK," Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada (ESL)

"Coconut Rock," by Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada, is a fine example of bait and switch.

The terrible title implies some kind of cheesy new music genre not unlike the lame Russian rock movement of the 1980s that was allegedly poised to engulf America (yet didn't). But it turns out "Coconut Rock" isn't rock music at all. It's more like a Latin Americana tinged in psychedelia, so it's a bit surprising that the two key members are Americans: New Yorker Martin Perna, who leads the horn section, and Texan Adrian Quesada (of Grupo Fantasma), who leads the rhythm section.

There are few spikes of excellence in "Coconut Rock," however there's a high minimum-standard for the sound, which is uniformly sweet and subtly ingratiating thanks to the beckoning drive of percussion, liberal use of non-blaring horns and periodic employment of distant, echoing vocals.

Superb track "Vendendo Saude e Fe" ("Selling Wealth and Faith") stands out thanks to the intoxicating vocals of Brazilian guest singer Tita Lima, who supplies a toasty jazz ambience. Meanwhile, "Vampires" has extra bite as the slapping beat drives home a charged political message, in English, against capitalism: "It's impossible to avoid them ... Vampires, vampires, red, white and blue."

Although it rarely demands full attention, "Coconut Rock" starts well with a trio of cuts that invite notice with calming cadence, a mix of horns (including baritone sax, flugelhorn and trumpet) and flecks of electro, and it closes well with the slinkier groove of "Prince of Peace."

The in-between stuff is also endearing -- stimulating in an understated way.