From Amazon.com
A more mature and substantial record than last year's still delightful
Outro Lado,
Tales of High Fever expands Zuco 103's blend of tropical rhythms and airy electronics, adding a light but insistently funky undertow. Featuring Brazilian vocalist Lilian Vieira, German keyboardist-programmer Stefan Schmid, and Dutch drummer-programmer Stefan Kruger, this global lineup knows how to explore an edgy and intoxicating groove. The lead-off track, "Treasure," starts things with a cool breeze of tropical funk, Vieira's playful vocals wafting over a popping electronic bass. "Peregrino" sounds like a South American version of funk-era Talking Heads with James Brown's horn section sitting in. "Tao Lonely" is dry as a bone drum and bass electro-pop; "Brazil 2000" is a fabulously dance-floor-ready 21st century bossa nova. But it's the expansive "Saci" and the tight, complex funk of "Curso de Reclamacao" that really show Zuco 103 stretching in new ways that go beyond the dance floor into more sublime territory.
--Carl Hanni
