Marc Ribot

This sophomore effort from the culture-hopping Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos expresses equal amounts of joy and sorrow. Backed by fierce percussion, Ribot's voice and electric guitar weave around Afro-Cuban and punk styles. This is a refreshing alternative to his previous avant-garde works.

Less enchanting than the first one, in part because it's not a surprise and in part because the tunes are a touch duller and the playing is a touch broader. But the idea of subjecting presalsa to the affectionate indignities of a small, bent jazz ensemble remains muy divertido. And once you internalize the material--by Ribot's beloved Arsenio Rodriguez and several other Cubans, with Ribot's own "Las Lomas de New Jersey" and "Baile Baile Baile" holding their own--you'll love the vamp-ups, the is-that-a-jokes, the getting loud but not that loud. (Grade - A-)