Who Let the Dogs Out

Baha Men

Ever heard of a Trinidadian dish called pelau? Well, mix any type of food you can get your hands on: chicken, rice, onions, tomatoes... Stir all of these disparate parts up in a pot and enjoy. The Baha Men are Bahamians, not Trinidadians, but they utilize this formula to create their unique brand of music. With its catchy "Woof! woof! woof!" chorus, the self-titled single will make you feel "Hot, Hot, Hot" like Arrow. Soca connoisseurs might find it a bit disturbing that the Baha Men chose to cover this dated carnival anthem of 1998 (originally recorded by Trinidadian Anslem Douglas), but bounce-music audiences won't mind. Although none of the other tracks quite match that song's intensity, there are a good handful ("You All Dat," "Shake It Mamma," "You're Mine") that successfully mesh the popular music styles of the day (R&B, rap, pop) with the percussive junkanoo rhythms of the Bahamas. The electronic beats on "Summer of Love" and "You Can Get It" don't match their organic island flows, and the lone ballad "Where Did I Go Wrong" doesn't fit in with the general feel-good mood of the album, but this CD is filled with decent up-tempo party music for hot festival nights. --Dalton Higgins

Who Let the Dogs Out Album: