Sola Rosa - Get It Together

Rating: * * * *

It's hard to believe Andrew Spraggon (who's made music as Sola Rosa since 1999) is a white boy from Point Chevalier. Across a handful of EPs, and three albums, including the downbeat cleverness of 2003's laptop-driven Haunted Out-Takes, he's always delved into, been influenced by, from, music around the world. On this his fourth album, he's on a global jaunt once again, this time with a more live band sound than ever before.

He could be in deepest, deadliest Sicily on the brassy promenade of Del Ray), in rumba land on the title track, and in a classy cabaret-cum-hip-hop club on Turn Around, featuring the moochy and husky vocals of Wellington singer Iva Lankum.

Then there's the slow-motion nod to blaxploitation on The Ace Of Space, on Bond Is Back he's in undercover action movie mode, and Humanised and Lady Love star the Erykah Badu-meets-Amy Winehouse sound-alike Bajka.

But Spraggon is at his best on the instrumentals and his shuffling songs, with trademark loping beats and suave sonic flourishes, mean he makes a sound all of his own.

His last album, Moves On, was a little too laid-back and lifeless, but Get It Together has lived up to its name and brought the bounce back.

Scott Kara