D.C.’s Empresarios totally went pro with last year’s Bestia EP, which made no bones about the Latin-oriented dance band’s desire to crank out would-be hits. Another EP, Volume, arrives today (it’s on Beatport via Fort Knox Recordings), and it’s also a good-time offering, but instead of striving for intensity, the band lays back: The BPMs are lower, the beats are generally 4/4, and the songs all breathe a little. That’s fine, because it’s too effing hot right now for anything else. Maybe that’s why the reggae-based “Rompan Fila” is the EP’s most appealing track; but don’t overlook the title track’s strong disco flavor, either.
Listen: Empresarios, “Volume”
[audio:http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/files/2012/07/02-volume.mp3|titles=Empresarios – Volume]
Empresarios are part of the Tropical Boom show tonight at U Street Music Hall.