Burning Sensations - Burning Sensations

All Music Guide

Burning Sensationsselftitled debut combines a jaunty blend of Caribbean, Latin and African textures, all delivered with a dose of goodold barband muscle and a great sense of fun. Lead vocalist, guitarist and chief songwriter Tim McGovern (exPop and exMotels) guides the band through a unique collection of songs that somehow manage to be evocative of both Mondo Bongoera Boomtown Rats and Golden Age of Wirelessera Thomas Dolby. Rockers like "Sea Shanty" and the rousing, hit single "Belly of the Whale" sit nicely among more slicksounding numbers like "Maria (You Just Don't Know What You're Dealing With)" and the Los LobosmeetsOingo Boingo throb of "Envy". Throughout the album, heavily treated guitars and alternately rhythmic and atmospheric keyboards tastefully mix with organic and electronic percussion elements, adding plenty of groove and drive without cluttering up the arrangements. It is this, more than anything, that serves to separate the group from the overindulgent, hippiejam ethni...city that seems to pervade so many other bands with similar, pancultural sensibilities: Burning Sensations actually rocks. - J. Scott McClintock, All Music Guide Read more Less