Si*Se | Suite101.com

Recently I've been hearing about Si*Se everywhere. They're a band from New York City--all the boroughs, according to their PRWeb site. Their sound's a brew of house, Latin, funk and jazz that their Web site describes as "the sound of ...nations rubbing elbows with other nations on subway platforms...maintaining their own unique identity while at the same time forging something altogether new." They could be just one of a handful of same-sounding bands who've recently mixed house with other musical styles, but their musical know-how, and the level of emotion they pour into their tracks, sets them far above the rest. This band is going to be big.

Aire, the first track I heard by the band, is a slinky drum-n-bass-meets-bossanova workout with the beautifully smooth voice of singer Carol C floating over the top. There's not a hint of pretension in her vocals: they're refreshingly free of the Aguilera-style runs and other aural acrobatics that are all over today's female-fronted songs. Drummer Ryan Farley has some serious jazz chops and his sound's so subtle he could be playing with a couple of feathers. They know their genres, from house to funk to traditional Latin, and they blend them effortlessly--to paraphrase the waiter from my local Mexican restaurant, it's like the chicken was born in the sauce.

The second Si*Se track I heard, Dolemite, starts off like Blondie with a booming dancehall beat and metamorphoses into a hard-hitting drum-n-bass track with snares aplenty and a lovely scat. Carol C's vocal sound and sense of melody is such a perfect recreation of the classic jazz singer's that, without the modern beats tipping me off, I'd swear Si*Se come straight out of the Thirties. They've even got a stand-up bass player, Morgan Phillips, but again, he's enhanced with so much reverb that you know you're listening to a track from the present. This is in no way a dis; Si*Se manage to borrow from the past without sounding the least bit derivative.

Sonrisa's lyrics are in Spanish. In this ambient track's more emotional moments, Carol C sounds like a less indie-angry Julieta Venegas. She shows off her astounding vocal range without resorting to flashy tricks. Some Bukem-style organic instruments--Jeannie Oliver and Olivia Martinez on violas and Neil Ochoa on bongos--give the song a warm feel that adds a bit of hope to its sadness.

I Want You To... takes us into outer space, with all the usual whooshes and echoes. Carol C's vocals have a Middle Eastern slant to them--not surprising since her mother's Arabic. The pace changes from clattering techno beats to a woozy, humming Portishead stagger. It's fun to listen to, and strangely moving. The end of the song, unfortunately, is rhythmically and melodically too reminiscent of the English band's famous track Sour Times. Se*Si can be more original than this. In their favor, however, they pack more emotion into the final moments of I Want You To... than Portishead have managed to muster in their entire catalogue.