Mexican Institute of Sound Soy Sauce
Soy Sauce starts on a high note, as album opener “Cumbia” is a toe-tapping electronic […]
Soy Sauce starts on a high note, as album opener “Cumbia” is a toe-tapping electronic update of the classic Colombian rhythm. Unfortunately, from the second track on, Camilo Lara (a.k.a. Mexican Institute of Sound) spends most of his third album taking a disappointing series of missteps. As always, his production and sample choices are on point—Soy Sauce pulls from an impressive array of vintage Latin sounds and seamlessly blends them with crisp and modern electronic sounds. What gets Lara into trouble are his stonerish vocals and generally goofy approach to the music, both of which could be refreshing, but instead grow quickly tiresome, especially on ill-advised efforts like “Sinfonia Agridulce,” an en español cover of The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony.”