Album: Pacifika, "Supermagique" (Six Degrees)

Hailing from Vancouver, the trio Pacifika expands their horizon beyond a downtempo dream-date soundtrack. The three performers tap their ethnic backgrounds -- Spanish island culture mostly -- to create an alluring blend of folk styles and electronic effects. "Supermagique" is a perfect cocktail-hour disc.

While they have gone more dancefloor than spa in places -- especially in the pump of the barrio bassline in "Chocolat," a brazen attempt to secure a hit with a appeal to fans of NPR and J-Lo -- they are at their most convincing in the slower material.

Silvana Kane's inviting vocals in Spanish and English are consistently alluring regardless of language. The album hits its stride about two-thirds through with the breezy "Doce Meses," the ballad "Perlas" and the cello-driven mood piece "The Mariner." They give Chicago's "25 Or 6 to 4" the Nouvelle Vogue treatment, convincingly reducing the classic rock hit to its barest elements.

The one song you need: "Doce Meses"