Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Need a boost? I have found the perfect album to use when training for a marathon. Somos los que Estamos, an album by the Chilean group Los Mono, is a jolt of energy and optimism. Listen to it and I guarantee you it will be joyfully running through your head all day (and as suggested maybe while you're running). The second best, but certainly awesome, use for this album would be to dance to it. And when you start dancing your going to notice that every inch of you is dancing along with you.

Los Mono is a group of several musicians in Santiago, Chile, all prolific in their own right, who came together to form a super-group. From listening you can tell that these guys are full of charisma and energy. Their music oozes with new and exciting vitality. Because of this they are taking Santiago by storm and I have no doubt they'll be in stereos worldwide very soon. They've also built a sort of persona for the band. The name Los Mono means "the monkeys" and they've pasted monkey faces on every website, album jacket page and video they have. I don't think I even saw one of the musicians actual faces. The mood of their music goes along with their cheerful presentation. The album name translates to "We are who we are", an inspiring message in and of itself. For an example of their style I'd suggest you check out the video for the song Promesas on Youtube.

The sounds in this album are primarily electronic with vocals that drive the up-tempo beat. The vocalists, some female, some male, do an excellent job. They sound incredibly laid back and confident as they spew out the complicated and fast vocals. Every single song is upbeat... surprisingly so, which creates a kind of nonstop fun I haven't heard since the excitement of C+C music factory. But with Somos los que Estamos we've got the additional latin beat in several of the songs too. And if that's not enough this group makes musical decisions that are inventive and aurally pleasing. The songs are filled with layers of sounds but it isn't overdone.

As I've alluded to, the message in every song on Somos los que Estamos is refreshing as hell. The words themselves are put together in a creative, sometimes even humorous way. These fun lyrics are in Spanish but the music should speak for itself if you don't know what they're saying. The first track, Se Puede, starts out with the repetition of the phrase that means "it's possible if you want it". This phrase builds and builds as the music seeps in and takes over. The lyrics that follow tell you not to let anyone put you down. Other songs promote messages like "keep it simple" and "be honest". Lots of music these days is not as literally uplifting as the stuff Los Mono lays down for us. It's like seeing a burst of sunshine after several cloudy months.

So if you're ready to get some inspiration Chileano style do yourself a favor and listen to Somos los que Estamos. You will be surprised how much better your day feels once you've blasted just one song through your house. These guys have the right formula for success. Lets hope they continue to put out such vibrant music.