Molotov - Dance and Dense Denso

Note: Listen to this only if you think you would like a Beastie Boys/Bad Brains/Eminem powershake. “Its like Molotov grew up and wrote actual songs.” This was the introduction my friend gave me when she lent me the latest release by Molotov – Dance and Dense Denso. This is the 3rd full-length release by Mexico’s controversial rap-rockers (think Beastie Boys and NOT Limp Bizkit). I was a bit surprised when she told me she had picked it up, as I was not expecting to hear much from this group nowadays. Their last album, 1999’s Apocolypshit, was not as big of a hit as their debut, Donde Jugaran Las Niñas?, but was an overall solid album that showed the band progressing in their sound. Well that was about four years ago. Their newest effort Dance and Dense Denso begins with an aggressive little number about moshing and head banging (just look at the cover art). But this album isn’t all about busting heads on the moshpit/dance floor. If you have not listened to Molotov before, it will quickly become apparent that they enjoy playing with Spanglish humor. “Changuich A La Chichona” talks about food and sex (with a backbeat very reminiscent to a certain Sir-Mix-a-Lot track). Molotov’s silly wordplay is also used to get some of their more important and serious messages across. “Frijolero” deals with US/Mexico border relations, while the two closing tracks “Nostradamus Mucho” and “Hit Me (Gimme Tha Power III)” talk about Mexico’s troubled political past. After a couple of listens, the disc will start to wear into you, and you’ll find yourself nodding to the dense beats and rhythms found on this disc. Like many of their Latin alternative contemporaries, such as Café Tacuba, Plastilina Mosh, and Kinky, their success lies in their clever mix of styles and sounds. Having Latin super-producer Gustavo Santaolalla behind you doesn’t hurt either. While song lyrics like “I want to hit your little sister’s piñata,” “I want to get down into your juju bees” and “ I got some hot beef for that rump roast” prove that Molotov will never really grow up, this record does show that they will continue to have fun while speaking their minds about what they see wrong with society and the world around them. You can tell they enjoy doing this and don’t care about what the critics will have to say. How can you go wrong with that? [www.molotov.com.mx]