The paranda music of the Central America’s Garifuna people proves appealing on the second album by Aurelio Martinez. His smooth, fleet guitar work bears resemblance to West African high life, Hawaiian steel guitar and Southern Californian surf sounds. The wistful picking and strumming accompanies often minor key vocals. Aurelio’s slightly pinched tenor makes an evocative match for songs of hardship, romance, celebration and heritage, all sung in his people’s local dialect. The rhumba-like rhythms would be a welcome fit on commercial Spanish language pop and tropical radio, next to bachata, merengue and vallenato beats—if not for the fact that he’s not singing in Spanish.
