Eco de Sombras: Echo of Shadows

by Rob FerrierOn this record Susana Baca delivers yet another solid example of why she is the queen of Afro-Peruvian music. These songs drift by like time in a crowded dirt-floor bar, like the hard sweet-sour of well-made cuba libre. A band composed mostly of well-schooled New York session players provides competent backing. Baca's voice is smooth, her songs and world darkly sinister. Anyone into the sounds of her neck of the woods or serious female singers with a unique voice like Cesaria Evoria will certainly enjoy this. Yet another worthy effort from a woman who refuses to pander to the nouveau hippie crowd.