As cumbia has become more and more known throughout the American music landscape (for starters, the "Narcos" theme music and that bizarro Amazon animated llama ad), more bands are grafting its distinctive rhythms onto different melodic styles. This Austin trio plays instrumentals (for the most part) that take the cumbia groove and throw just about everything at it.

The Animeros ¡Que Barbaro! (Easy Eye Sound)

One piece might have a decided Santana slink, another might have a late 60s fuzzy soul vibe, and so on. The trick is staying close enough to tradition without sacrificing originality. The Animeros do just fine there. These pieces are fun, danceable and hard to drive out of the ears.

Though I'm not sure why someone would want to forget this stuff. It’s perfect for a party or blasting out of car speakers. These songs evoke a different time and place even as they move a particular sound into realms previously unknown.

And no, I'm not into arguing appropriation. The Animeros are quite clear about their inspiration, and music has always been about accretion and assimilation anyway. There's no way forward if you can't take old sounds into new territories. Anyway, if anyone is in the mood to whine after listening to this set, they can go somewhere else to do it. Too much fun is never enough.