The best thing about the new Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno album is the way Will Holland has evolved his sound. At a glance you may wonder what makes Flowering Inferno different from Combo Barbaro, and honestly, it's a fine line. With the recording of Flowering Inferno's Dog With a Rope however, that line has now become a very, very fine one. When it comes to Quantic's music on the other hand, it doesn't matter what you call it, the man has a distinctive sound that rarely disappoints. Tru Thoughts describes this album as a "Tropical Soundclash", and while it is, Holland had a deeper goal in mind.

1. Dog With a Rope
2. Dub Y Guaguanco
3. Swing Easy
4. Echate Pa'lla (Version)
5. Portada Del Mar
6. Cumbia Sobre El Mar
7. Te Picó El Yaibí (Version)
8. No Soy Del Valle
9. Echate Pa'lla
10. Echate Pa'lla
11. Te Picó El Yaibí

When you listen to the debut album from this project, Death of the Revolution, you'll hear the clear and persistent presence of Reggae rhythms. The influences going into each of the songs on Dog With a Rope come from Jamaica's soundsystem culture, Puerto Rico's easy-going melodies, Cuba's dusty romance, Colombia's cumbia rhythms, and all else tropical. You'll hear a lot more vocal work on this new album, which is in strong contrast to the near completely instrumental debut of Flowering Inferno.

"Dog With a Rope" opens the album and sets a specific tone. It's sound is a perfectly balanced blend of Cuban and Jamaican influences. I expected that the strength of Reggae and Dub influence that wound its way throughout Death of the Revolution would remain here, and it's an arguable statement to say it either does or doesn't, but it doesn't. Not in the same way. When you take in "Dub Y Guaguanco", you'll realize this is as much a continuation of Flowering Inferno as it is Quantic's other Latin-heavy side-project with Combo Barbaro. Not to mention, this is an amazing song for you Salsa dancers out there.

Focusing on such a technical detail, even one that should be as relevant as the artist (or side-project) name itself, or the continuity of a sound, really steals away from the amazing beauty of this music.

In keeping with the recent trend of Cumbia's popularity among DJs worldwide, you'll find a lot of Cumbias throughout this album. If you've been following anything about Quantic over recent years, this is certainly no surprise move. I'd say that it has more to do with Holland's increased exposure to the roots of Latin music than the modern proclivities of DJs. It's just part of his continuing self-education in tropical music history. To different degrees you'll also hear influences of Salsa, Mambo, Dancehall, Son, and others.

In a way, Cumbia, Colombia's de Facto National music, is the perfect complement to the rhythms of Jamaican Reggae. It is the rhythmic similarity between the styles that has unquestionably led so many Reggae and Dub loving DJs and dancers to adopt Cumbia so quickly and happily.

Will Holland's goal in recording this album, and all his other most recent work as well, has been to give the world fresh songs that are guided in their sound by classic Latin and Caribbean styles. As Will found DJ after DJ digging into the rich musical history, he wasn't finding many musicians recording new music in those same styles. It's a bit like the Rare Groove thing that hit the 90s, when as DJs en masse were digging into classic material, there were only a handful of musicians making new music that was true to that classic sound. It's that simple observation that has driven Will Holland to not only explore the roots of a sound, but to recreate it faithfully, and that's what you will hear on this album. You will hear that honesty.

The only criticism I can try to raise is that a few songs sound like unfinished ideas. Instead of heading into a pinnacle moment, a few songs just fade out, almost prematurely, but at the same time, it's not really a problem. My suspicion is that you'll experience that pinnacle during the bands live performance of these songs, or perhaps in an extended version to be released at some later date.

Without question, this is some of Holland's most matured work and at no point in the entire album will you find a weak song. I'm not saying that simply because I've developed an immense appreciation for the music he's released lately, especially his Latin styled side-projects, but because it's a simple statement of fact. Dog With a Rope is an album above reproach. It is an elevation of Will Holland's skill as a composer, student of Latin and Caribbean music, and an elevation to the mind of anyone willing to give it a listen.

http://soundcloud.com/tru-thoughts/quantic-presenta-flowering-inferno-dog-with-a-rope

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