Papa Garcia - Bring Me The Head Of Papa Garcia

If there's a definable thread to Garcia's work, it's a love of guitar. A six-string obsessive since the age of 11, an unorthodox upbringing in both Panama City and Manhattan makes for broadly stylistic riffola, be it power pop ("I Don't Mind," "Blue"), Nile Rodgers funk ("Fast"), garage rock or Skynyrd boogie. But this is more than orgiastic plank-spanking. Garcia's recent relocation to his native UK was sparked by submersion in analogue electronica, injecting the likes of "Life & Death" and "The Feeling" with enough squelching beats to scramble Heavenly Social headz. Jaw-droppingly inspired, Garcia shuffles identities with all the techno-headed aplomb of a latterday Mister Ben.

Rating: 4 / 10