Watching a concert through your phone is one of the most depressing by-products of our connected age, so it’s nice of Cilantro Boombox to deliver a wake-up call. The Austin band is particularly suited to this message. Their sweaty, joyful blend of Latin funk, salsa, reggae, and hip-hop doesn’t just tell you to put the phone away (which the band does, both in Spanish and English); they also show you through a feverish gumbo of horns, chants, and ass-shaking rhythms. In Cilantro Boombox’s box, the dance floor is both celebration and salvation.
“Living In A Box” appears on Shine, out now. Cilantro Boombox plays a free in-store today at Waterloo Records at 5 p.m.
–Art Levy // host, Sunday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., producer, My KUTX
