Los Amigos Invisibles Blends Funk and Bossa Nova With High Style

One of the most accomplished and freshest-sounding bands to emerge from the rock en espan~ol movement, Los Amigos Invisibles is also a marketing nightmare.

How do you promote a Venezuelan sextet that sings in Spanish while fusing funk, bossa nova and lounge with just a tad of rock en espan~ol, and also delivers openly sexual lyrics with playful sincerity?

Commercial considerations aside, Los Amigos has never sounded better. An extensive tour through Europe and the Americas seems to have done the group a mountain of good. Thursday at the Roxy, the sound mix brought to the forefront the more rocking side of guitarist-composer Jose Luis Pardo and drummer Juan Manuel Roura, while singer Julio Bricen~o has brought his memorable stage antics to even new heights.

Toward the end of the evening, the band took a breather from its relentless ultra-funk, playing a superlative version of the bossa nova instrumental “Las Lycras del Avila.” It was a moment of rapturous beauty, leaving the impression that this endearing group will probably prove to be more lasting than many of its influences.