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Wagon Cookin’ is an instrumental/dj/production team from Spain which is now residing in Brazil. And consists of brothers Javier and Luis Garayalde. The bros are multi-instrumentalists with solid backgrounds in classical and jazz music (their father is Javier Garayalde, a noted sax player); the brothers have played in a number of jazz bands but became interested in electronica in the mid-1990s, releasing a number of singles before forming their own Appetizer label in 2001. Two Faces is, as far as I am able to tell, their third long play release and would certainly appear to be their most ambitious project to date.

Two Faces is an appropriate name for this project which consists of two CDS which show the multiple sides of what Wagon Cookin’ does. Disc, or "Face" One, consists of some fairly competent electro pop, very commercial but very well done; the disc, with tracks such as If You Love Me and What It’s Like almost sounds like a songwriter’s demo, except for the fact that it is brilliantly produced and recorded. Wagon Cookin’ mixes a number of musical styles --- jazz, funk, and latin, among others --- with a layer of house grooves to produce a varied and lively sound that never disappoints. Truth be told, however, the stronger disc is Face Two, which is straight-ahead electro/house music combining the elements noted above with a hyper kinetic underpinning. En El Barrio seems to drag a bit initially, but only when compared to sidemates such as Jumps On Me; on it’s own it stands up to anything released this year.

The Brothers Garayalde are superb producers; I’ve played 2 Faces on a few different systems, a couple of times under less than optimum conditions, and the mix consistently comes through crystal-clear. These guys seem to be full of ideas and imagination, and I get the feeling that they are just scratching the surface of a deep mine of talent. Recommended.