Call It Radar
We Need Our Friends to Be Closer
(self-released)
Tom Gorrio hung up the towel on Call It Radar not too long ago with the intention of taking his solo work on the road. Well, he did just that, but the power of Call It Radar still came back to bite him in the seat of his pants. Thus, now we have a nice new EP boasting a new set of musical backers for Gorrio. Max Gonzalez (bass) and Deryl Spielman (drums/percussion) round out the rhythm section while Ben Scalise lends keys. The title track has — I swear — a Cameo feel to it, and we've heard "My Reggae Samba Jam" on other Gorrio recordings. The real fun here begins with the quirky "While I'm in Your World," the horn- and Spanish-driven "Never Pretend," and the assertive closer, "Keep Waiting." Knowing Gorrio's prodigious output, though, we won't be waiting for too long.
Midnight Moroders
Disco for Abruzzo
Wondersound
All the way back in 2005, DJ Induce's album of sonic manipulations, Cycle, was truly a blessing upon these South Florida ears. As I'm always a pest when it comes to encouraging musicians toward new releases, I've been bothering the poor guy since. And now, Induce and Danny Daze have created their project Midnight Moroders, with a slab of 24 tweaked, bastardized, reclaimed, and seriously worked-over tracks. Blending elements of Italo disco (whatever the fuck that is), Casiotone synths and keys, computerized robotic assistance, '80s new wave, breaks, bass, and a microphone or two, the result is an eclectic dance party heavy on the sexy.
Cosa Nostra
Sampler
Latinflow305
I can't really say that I know much about what's going on here — this bare-bones six-tracker doesn't really tell me more than that it is some kind of sampler for Cosa Nostra and Proyecto Vega. Anyway, whatever the hell it is, you can hear some of it on their MySpace page. Expect reggaeton beats, bilingual raps of questionable grammatical integrity, some nuances of traditional Latin rhythms sampled and peppered throughout, and the occasional witty transition.