Reviewed by Paddy Hudspith

Pigeon-hole this if you dare! Havalina set out their stall with that quirky title, and the 13 tracks veer wildly across such territories as space rock, guitar-driven indie pop and even lounge jazz, each covered in a sprinkling of Latino-flavoured tidbits. Band leader Matt Wignall's "relaxed" vocals at times brought former Ragamuffin Mark Robertson to mind; imagine Robertson's band This Train vacationing lazily in Spain and you're in the right territory. Personal fave "Rocket Ship" got me thinking excitedly of the B-52's, but too many mid-tempo tunes plod along forgettably for this to genuinely hit the spot. On Tooth & Nail's website, the Havalina biog declares, "We honestly don't know where, how or if we fit into this modern world of over-produced music and lame trend-mongering major labels." Their determination to do something different is laudable and I truly wanted to like this but, sad to say, little here caught my attention.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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