The flyers advertising Mexican band Titan's UK visit proclaim that they're "nothing like you've ever heard before". More than that, they boast a fusion of "Queen, Public Enemy, Chick Corea, jalapenos and David Sole". The initial reaction is to chuckle at the presumably unintentional misprint, but after half an hour of Titan's jawdropping music, only a Starsky & Hutch scriptwriter could refuse to believe that not only is there a David Sole, but he is a major influence on the future course of pop.
Titan (it's pronounced Teet-arn) are very different. The annals of pop aren't bulging with Mexican electronic funk bands, never mind one that looks and plays like characters from a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western. Their image is fabulously preposterous but the glints in their eyes suggest they (and record company Virgin) are well aware of the mileage in selling a gang of wacky, mustachioed banditos to us weirdo-pop starved Brits. But who cares when the "product" is this good?
The Public Enemy and Queen references are misnomers. In fact Titan owe more to the likes of Bootsy Collins, George Clinton, Sergio Mendes, Tito Puente and even the Beastie Boys. And yet, it's impossible to nail them down. Perhaps it's enough to admit that they play the most glorious, spaced-out funky music since Clinton came to earth aboard the Mothership.
A three-piece, they include a mischievous guitarist resembling Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnell and a frontman/vocalist who could be Joe Strummer reincarnated as a Mexican waiter. On tour, Titan are augmented by a sterling Japanese DJ, who sees no difference in dropping the Chemical Brothers or strange sci-fi music into their narcotic brew.
The real ace in the pack, though, is bassist (and former Mexican child star) Jay de la Cueva. A vision in shades and sideburns with collars the size of small countries, he underpins the sound within gigantic rubbery bass in the same way Bootsy inspired Parliament. Similarly, Titan drop in and out of recognisable forms of music at will, at one point doing things to the Starsky theme that would have David Soul (or Sole) radioing for reinforcements. June's Elevator album and a Rolling Rock advert later in the summer could well see them becoming justifiably massive. In the meantime, they depart the gig in a humble tourbus, when I seriously expected them to ride off on wild horses.
Titan play ULU, London WC1 (020-7344 4444), tomorrow.
