Album: Various artists, The Roots of Chicha (Barbes)

In 1960s Peru there was born an unlikely musical hybrid called chicha, which mixed surf guitar with the seesaw rhythm of cumbia.

This CD is more of an introduction than a revival of this sprightly form, as it made little impression in either Peru or the rest of the world at the time of its invention. However, the greatest compliment you could give this quirky, if sometimes over-polite music (you're constantly willing the guitarists to just let go a little!) is that any track by the half dozen bands represented would fit comfortably on a Jim Jarmusch movie soundtrack.

Pick of the Album: The wobbly oriental instrumental 'Sonido Amaonico'