Grupo Mania

• Genre: Merengue

About

Grupo Mania's 2001 release, Mania 2050, opens with a bit of Breakbeat fancy, but don't be fooled. When this Puerto Rican brother band gets going, they rock the hardcore Merengue their fans demand. This is where heartthrob Elvis Crespo got his start, but the Serrano brothers don't suffer without him. After Crespo left in 1995, the band saw their 1998 release, Dinastia, nominated for a Grammy. This is essential Caribbean dance music: high, bright horns punctuate unbelievably tight grooves, and the harmonized backing supports an unstoppable, understandably hoarse lead singer.

- Sarah Bardeen