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Mezklah, "Spider Monkey" (Escuchalo Records)

This L.A. duo creates a fusion of electronica and Latin beats that's highly intoxicating. They call their music "tribal electronica," a blend of Latin rhythms and percussion, rock guitar and drum-machine programming with keys, synths and samples, which is rather apropos since the group's name is the Spanish phonetic spelling of "mixture or blend."

"Fogata," an ode to females everywhere, is a minimalist techno/electro cumbia with horns, much like "Chango Ara¤a" (literally "spider monkey") a horn-driven electro cumbia. The syncopated "Tsunami Mami" includes a snippet of a nursery rhyme most Chicano children have heard when they get a boo-boo. While most of the songs are sung in Spanish, Angel Garcia switches to English and back effortlessly ("Red Mud" is bilingual drum-and-bass). His partner in crime, Greg Hernandez, is equally adept at most any guitar style ("Ojo de Agua," a flamenco with Afro-Cuban beats, or the intriguing religious battle "Passion in the Flesh," a psychedelic rocker).

There's an extreme funk vibe that permeates the whole endeavor - from the funky rocker title track that uses clipped English vocals to great effect, to the trip-hop "Shotgun." About the closest these guys come to straight-ahead rock Õn' roll is "Maldita," a dark, menacing rock en Espa¤ol number.

The guys in Mezklah take a little bit of this and a little bit of that in their global embrace of culture through tribalism.

Mezklah brings the funk to Ralli's 4th Street Pub and Grill, 109 Fourth St. N.W., at 8 tonight. Fitters and Concepto Tambor open the free show. 21 and over. Call 243-1093.

Hear: "Chango Araña"

Opus Dai, "Tierra Tr game" (Double Blind Music)

This umlaut-crazed L.A. quartet (starting with an umlaut on the "A" in the band's name and then imagine one over all the O's and I's in the song titles and you get the idea) is given to prog-rock a la Rush ("Firefly") sans the Geddy Lee squeal (which is a good thing). They also eschew the mythology themes for the most part, except the gods of precipitation ("Rain") and the gods of war ("The Front Line," where the vocals are growled/screamed by the end).

Vocalist Chrispaul Basso uses his voice as another instrument in the mayhem, and he has the Maynard James Keenan growl down pat, especially on three Tool-like tunes: "Taken Eye," "Vox Populi" and the soaring "Sora," with its thumping bass line and time/tempo changes that turn it into a Middle Eastern raga. Another highlight throughout is guitar virtuoso Atsushi Miyamoto, who wields some finesse on the lovely acoustic "Sleepwalk," which seems to deal (metaphorically) with domestic violence.

There are points on the disc where, if you were to throw in some keyboards and organ fills, you'd almost have Yes (the love song "Bella Christa," which gets a little sappy with "reality's dreams.") But then they take a left turn, as on the dirgelike lament "Ashes, Ashes" with its tribal drumming. If you like progressive rock, this disc is for you.

Come look for the Seventh Sign on Monday when Opus Dai plays Burt's Tiki Lounge, 313 Gold Ave. S.W. Left Brain and Devil Riding Shotgun open the free show at 10 p.m. 21 and over. Call 247-2878.

Switchfoot, "Oh! Gravity" (Columbia Records, out Dec. 26)

On its sixth studio album and third for a major label, the San Diego five-piece isn't your pastor's typical Christian-rock band. Led by the brothers Foreman, Jon and Tim, these pop-rockers are rocking hard with conviction.

They still display a spiritual bent, but they do it without being heavy-handed or stuffing it down your throat ("Awakening," about being born again, and the excellent "Faust, Midas and Myself," where finding yourself is the best defense against temptation). Temptation and obsession are recurring themes, as on "4:12," which tackles material world obsessives with double-time hand claps (yeah!), and "American Dream," with the lyric "When success is equated with excess/the ambition for excess wrecks us. . . . This isn't my American dream"; but by the end of the song, the protagonist has changed his tune.

Jon Foreman has become a formidable songwriter and lyricist, as well, and his craft is on full display: musically on the raucous, up-tempo guitar rocker "Burn Out Bright" and the psychedelic "Dirty Second Hands," with its Led Zeppelin "Kashmir"-like Middle Eastern flavor. Lyrically, he's adept at turning a phrase, as on soulful R&B rocker "Amateur Lovers," where "We're not just amateur lovers. We're just amateur friends" is an excuse to do the deed again. And, on the pop-rock title track, he just wants some peace, love and understanding, as he pleads: "Sons of my enemies, why can't we keep it together?"

"Oh! Gravity" is a spiritual journey, but it's one more of realization than of testimony to the congregation and the newly converted.

Switchfoot preaches to the choir Monday at the Sunshine Theater, 120 Central Ave. S.W. Moses Mayfield opens the all-ages show. $20 in advance or at the door. Doors at 7 p.m. Advance tickets, plus service charges, at Ticketmaster outlets. Call 883-7800 or go to www.ticketmaster.com. Smoking and alcohol service in segregated areas only.

The Oohlas, "Best Stop Pop" (Stolen Transmission)

This L.A. quartet evokes mid-Õ90s alternative rock (the good stuff) on its debut CD. This may (or may not) have to do with its pedigree: Greg Eklund, former drummer for Everclear, ditched the kit and comes front and center on guitar and vocals in his kid brother Mark's band. Olivia "Ollie" Stone also handles vocal and guitar chores.

This music is reminiscent of the Breeders and/or Belly (the three-chord dream pop of "Gone"; the fidgety and anxious "Tripped"; and power pop "Across the Stars in Blue") except with male harmonies. Stone sounds like the Deal sisters (most of the time) or Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O ("Small Parts" and "Rupert Krikor Chang").

The theme may be dark (estrangement on "Snow Shoes" or claustrophobia on "The Rapid") but the music belies the point (alienation never sounded so good as on "Small Parts"). In fact the themes deal with love (the unrequited and/or the gone bad kind "TV Dinner") or boredom ("The Cahuenga Shuffle"), but mostly love in all its permutations (the breakup song "From Me to You"). And the lyrics are full of double-entendres, whether they're intentional or not. (Or maybe I've just got a dirty mind.)