Sargasso Trio Get to Grips

Sargasso Trio's sophomore album, Get to Grips, is a fresh and fun, if a bit odd, fusion of calypso and synth-pop. According to their website, the three members met while playing samba, and that Latin influence is apparent from the percussion that opens the first track, Kathmandu, and continues abundantly through the album; bass and drums dominate most tracks.

That first track really sets the standard for the island-touched playfulness of the album. It opens: “Lately I've been thinking about the thing I've been trying to hide / the fact that I brought the ring and left the boy behind.”  This continues through the next track Dinner, a quirky song chronicling a man's efforts to woo a woman with, of all things, his culinary talents: “It's my mission to charm you with my skills in the kitchen. ” The line “I'm gonna make you dinner,” plays a big role in the chorus.

Demon on the Drums is a driving dance track that personifies, through its beat and its lyrics, the addictive, hypnotic properties of rhythm. Over-thinking? Perhaps, but with or without thinking, the sexy song induces gyration and shines as the album's stand-out track.

Patterns tips a bit too far to the synth side and sounds like a relic from the 80s. It's not invigorating enough to be a good dance track and too shallow to be much else. Plus, it goes on too long; at 4:17, it's the second longest song on the album and unfortunately the weakest.

The Arab features impressive vocal rhythm fluctuations by Emily Siddall, a mysterious vibe and the standard Sargasso Trio humor: “She thinks he loves her for her mind, he thinks he loves her for her bum.”

The band obviously put careful thought into the arrangement of the tracks as an album. It opens with the catchy Katmandu, the strongest track, Demon on the Drums, is smack in the middle, and the upbeat Oh Microphone ends the album after the slow, almost-ballad Simple Constellations.

Get to Grips packs in a solid mix of laid-back, calypso-inspired songs with upbeat synth-heavy dance tracks – a party mix sure to satisfy those looking to chill or groove.