Nearly everything about Don’t Mess With the Dragon is as fluid and serpentine as the album’s namesake. The band manages to take nine individual pieces to the puzzle and make them fit. Ozomatli doesn’t try to weave sounds and messages from across the globe together. It flows effortlessly.  Full text...

Don’t Mess With the Dragon, the fifth full length release by LA-based Ozomatli makes the concerted effort to do two things. One, smooth out their songwriting process so that every track was a collaborative effort between band members (yay). Two, bring in producer KC Porter to help give the sound a more packaged, radio-playable spin (ummm….).  Full text...

One band that will never drag on.  Full text...

Longtime Angeleno progressives decide to get retarded in here.   Full text...

Furiously upbeat and politically centered lyrics are about all that's consistent from song to song, because the band shifts comfortably from rock to rap to blues to traditional Latin sounds in an entertaining revue showcasing its talent and open-mindedness.  Full text...