Gaby Kerpel Carnabailito (Nonesuch/Warner) Rating: Nnnn Rating: NNNN
Like the Gotan Project, Gaby Kerpel has a relationship with Argentine music that seems once removed. Carnabailito is riddled with wheezing accordions and twisted tango. With his unusual use of loops, samples and stuttered rhythms, Kerpel’s peculiar take on Argentine pop reflects his background in theatre and soundtracks. There’s a wide-screen approach to folk music here, both rootsy and very modern, like Tom Waits muttering away en espaol. Carnabailito creaks in all the right places and occasionally works up a mighty groove only for it to fall apart before the song ends. It’s delightful and utterly beguiling.
