"All tracks were recorded with everyone playing together at the same time," announces Amparo Sanchez in the sleeve notes for the latest Amparanoia album, and that sums up her approach. Sanchez is one of the more boisterous and jovial exponents of the mestizo style that has shaken up Spanish pop, thanks partly to the influence of her friend Manu Chao. She leads a Spanish-Cuban band who set out to mix Latin styles with anything from reggae to hip-hop, and they are more interested in capturing the live energy and enthusiasm of their music than in subtle studio technique.

Their variety is impressive, with anything from boleros to a furious, brassy clash of reggae and Mexico, with lyrics in Spanish, French and English. Inevitably, it's the upbeat tracks that work better than the slinky ballads. The opening songs feature the Amparanoia band, but the real surprises come in the four "bonus tracks" in which Sanchez is joined by friends from Macaco or Ojos de Brujo for the furious dub reggae/ hip-hop workout on Jungle 3 or an unlikely Spanish take on Bob Marley's Redemption Song. Impressive - but surely even better heard live.