Tango SiempreOnly HumanReview

During a recent interview I did with Gustavo Santaolalla of the (post-tango?) group Bajofondo, he observed that after Astor Piazzolla redefined Argentinean tango from the late 1950s onwards, tango composers ''fell into 'Piazzolla-isms', without having his genius''.

Tango Siempre are perhaps the UK's leading tango group, and openly acknowledge Piazzolla's pervading influence on their original compositions, most of which have been penned by pianist Jonathan Taylor on this, their fourth album. And while they do what they do with a high level of skill, Santaolalla's words ring in my ears just as those of Piazzolla - which punctuate and close this CD - fade to silence.

The group has beefed up from three to five players, and for the first time features a bandoneón player (Paulo Russo replacing the accordion of Pete Rosser), which is a real asset. Unfortunately they no longer have at hand the talents of saxophonist Gilad Atzmon, who contributes some of the best moments on last year's Tangents album. while Milo Fell's jazz-schooled drumming is also a plus, the same cannot be said of his programming, which makes the likes of A Matter Of Life And Death and Dance of Death sound like low budget electrotango. And Triphop & Fugue is unlikely to satisfy fans of either Portishead or baroque music.

Only Human definitely has moments to savour. Belo Horizonte has some lovely Fender Rhodes work by Taylor and Richard Pryce’s booming double bass. The more aptly titled Milonga Polyrrítmica is the most adventurous and original piece, while anybody that hasn't encountered the charms of Chango Spasiuk (the leading exponent of chamamé, tango’s country cousin from Argentina's rural northeast) could well be inspired to do so by Chango. This piece gives viola player/violinist Ros Stephen a chance to shine, perhaps making amends for some rather heavy-handed (electric viola?) on Straw Dogs.

Just as many people prefer something artificial to the 'real' thing, audiences who don’t know tango as played by an Argentinean maestro will probably enjoy Only Human. But why have 'cordial' when 'real juice' is just as widely available and costs no more?