Ozomatli: Street Signs

Ozomatli: Street Signs
by Martell

There's something about Ozomatli that I can't quite explain. By all rights, I should have listened to their latest album Street Signs and said "Whatever," as I'm usually much more interested in guitar-driven rock, especially if it has a punk-pop influence. But instead, I found myself intrigued. So I listened to the album again, trying to figure out what was the appeal.

Background: Ozomatli has been around the L.A. music scene for about 10 years, and their self-titled debut was released in the summer of 1998. Around that time, a bunch of people I worked with became big fans of the band, but I myself had no exposure to their music. Still, they remained in the back of my mind as a group that might warrant a listen someday. Fast forward to this summer. I'm at the record store checking out the "New Releases" shelf and I see Street Signs, and I figure now is as good a time as any to see what this band is all about.

Ozomatli's sound is at first both familiar and unique, combining common elements in an uncommon way. Funk, hip-hop and Latin music are all prevalent throughout the album, though not necessarily on every track, along with a touch of jazz here and there. Latin beats with hip-hop rapping, funk tracks with Spanish lyrics, a soft Spanish jazz piano ballad--the creativity of the music alone is enough to impress most critics. Combine that with precise performances and top-notch musical arrangement and it's no wonder their fan base is growing.

But what really gives Ozomatli's music such mass appeal is that their songs are just so darn catchy. The music itself is totally infectious; it had my head bobbing and body moving by the time I reached the third song. After a couple of listens to the album, I had bilingual choruses bouncing around in my head, even if wasn't exactly sure what they were saying. I would not be surprised if a number of these songs received serious radio airplay, and with the band's cross-cultural appeal, Street Signs looks to me to have "platinum" written all over it.

Just as the early 90's fusion of rap and rock paved the way for bands like 311 and Limp Bizkit to achieve popularity, the Latin/hip-hop/funk combo could easily end up with a similar result. If so, Ozomatli may one day be seen as musical pioneers. And if not, they still will have given music fans everywhere something pretty good to listen to.

Martell can be reached at martell@babblog.com.