 Tommy Guerrero follows up his 2001 Junk Collector EP with more evocatively drawn drama for full chill-out effect on this soulful new work. Soul Food Taqueria features 17 tracks that employ a variety of sensuous, trippy styles expertly commanded by the man himself, successfully moves from skateboard to in-studio enthusiast with a record that speaks volumes in a universally comprehensible way.
Guerrero - multi-instrumentalist and mellowed-out master of a dream-like domain - merges fluid motion with delicate beats for an out of body listening experience that's as much a 4am return trip as it is sandy beach and blue water. The music however, though mesmerizing, serves up a fair share of friction in an otherwise relaxed atmosphere, thanks to this artist whose channelled ambition sets the necessary backdrop for lo-fi largesse and indiscreet aural colour schemes.
Try to envision Led Zeppelin's No Quarter, and imagine Cheech & Chong's '77 smoke bomb puttering down the highway to herb. And then along comes something like Interlude So Many Years Ago, Interlude And The Day Goes By, and the subtle still effect of Falling Awake which does just that - lulls you to near passivity before beckoning one final time.
Yesterday's modesty becomes today's boldness - at least a fraction of the time - on titles like Organism and It Gets Heavy - the latter featuring the vocals and natural vibes of veteran Gresham Taylor - or Gettin It Together, where Lyrics Born lets it go for the jazzed-up and funky frontrunner of the record. And throughout there's a myriad of conscientious low-key transition and sound tracking employed by way of keys, strings, and a half dozen drum and bass breaks.
Soul Food Taqueria paints a hazy portrait of a 1975 cop show street corner that's grounded in funk, soul, blues, drum and bass, Santana, psychedelia, and pimp music that's unlikely and all at once dormant, dominant and defiantly aural. :: Vinnie Apicella |
