Rock Español A Través De Los Ojos De Un Ruso: Apartamentos Acapulco

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четверг, 14 декабря 2023 г.

Lo mejor de 2023. Top 50 Albums, 01-10

My life is like that. For the most of the year, while at work, I listen to music, write opinions on it and do some other useless things - and I get paid. I can’t say “i get paid for this” because that’s not what they pay me for. They pay me for what I do every November. In November the budget campaign starts, and it makes me spend 14 hours a day seven days a week in the workspace estimating the next year plan. It's exhausting. But this is what I get paid for for the rest of the year.

The timing of the budget campaign coincides with the closure of the musical year. Closing the musical year also requires effort and time, but nobody pays me for this. It is much more satisfactory and interesting than doing the budget exercise but I have no time for it cuz the time is eaten by budget. So, every November for me is a clusterfuck.

This year the clusterfuck has splashed over onto December due to unstable markets in Russia and ensuing complications with the planning process, so I'm writing this snatching minutes from working hours.

The life has changed.

The year 2019 I travelled to Europe 9 (!) times - most of them with the direct flights. This year I managed to travel only once with huge stopovers and enormous overpricing. My attempts to find myself a job in Europe turned out fruitless. I get pretty close to losing hope. There's still life in Russia. People are laughing, underground bands are playing, restaurants are open. You can purchase european wines and cheese. All at least twice as much - but you can, if you want to, keep on sticking to your habits. There's still life in Russia but it's a wrong one, and I don't feel good living it through. The albums below along with those listed in the previous #LoMejorDe2023 entries made me feel much better anyway. Thanks for this.

BC = Bandcamp, AM = Apple Music, YM = YouTube Music

10. Medalla "Duelo"

This band should be huge. The new album with its post-hardcore influences, metallic sound, emotional approach and strong melodies clearly proves it. This is the true rock music - not those chart toppers heralded as such (you know who I'm talking about).

09. Speaker Cabinets "Tales From New Babel"

Quite unexpected guests in the top ten. Electro-rock trio Speaker Cabinets spent almost seven years recording the concept disc "Tales From New Babel". The new songs are sparkling with energy. The quality of the songwriting is such that, say, Brendan Flowers would kill for the tracks like “Reflections” or “Doomsday”. Speaker Cabinets are also one of those bands that deserve much more attention than they've currently got. The most obvious reason is prolificacy or, more precisely, the absence of it. This is the second album by the Barcelona trio, when the first was released back in 2016. Perhaps with the release of "Tales From New Babel" the situation would change. At least, I hope so.

08. Apartamentos Acapulco "La Reconciliación"

On the first two albums ("Nuevos Testamentos" (p)2017 and "El Resto Del Mundo" (p)2019) Aptos. Acapulco were slow, atmospheric and immersed in textures. On the pandemic "El Año Del Tigre" the sound got more punchy, with more emphasis on songwriting. "La Reconciliación" continues this trend adding another stylistic element: the band now sounds closer to Arista Fiera, Terry Vs Tori or Lua Gramer - i.e the bands that mix shoegaze with indie pop. “Closer to,” of course, does not mean “exactly like,” but the changes are already noticeable. I don’t know where it would lead them but so far the results are inspiring.

07. Madee "Conundrum"

After reuniting three years ago Madee sound more like a mixture of early Death Cab For Cutie and The Appleseed Cast of "Two Conversations"-era. And, damn, how wonderful it is! It's like emo music for those well into their forties.

It's so sad that the band called it quits again this fall.

06. Gazella "Gazella"

In mathematical context the term “degeneration” doesn't bear a negative connotation. So when I call the long-awaited Gazella album 'degenerated shoegaze equation' this should not be misleading. I don't berate it. What I'm trying to say is that shoegaze as performed by the Valencian band reaches a certain critical point in its development.

The internal tension of this album reaches Alcest-y heights; lead vocalist Raquel Palomino moans more than she sings; the guitars sound like a breath of wind; fans of Blonde Redhead's "Misery Is A Butterfly" and "23" are invited to the chat. Sounds alluring? For sure.

05. Repion "Repion"

In August 2018 I saw Marina and Teresa live, and they got me stunned. The same year the Iñesta sisters released EP "Donde Escapa La Luz" that contained “Ciudad De Vacaciones” - the song that quickly became my go-to melody to whistle in my spare time. That happened before that well-documented 90's fem-indie boom (Bully, Soccer Mommy, Lomelda, Momma, Beabadoobee, Olivia Rodrigo, etc.) sky-rocketed right into Pitchfork Media's 'best new music' section. So I'm glad to pronounce Repion leaders not followers.

04. DOM "Warm"

Read this

No other album this year made me say to my couple Tati: "I don't want this music to end - ever!"

03. Niños Luchando "Territorio"

Here is a short list of artists Niños Luchando are compared with in reviews: Radiohead, The Postal Service, Moderat, Grizzly Bear, Depeche Mode, Parade. I have to admit, all these comparisons are worthless. This album is a value of its own, it needs no stupid comparisons.

The appeal of this music is built upon accurately measured portions of intimacy and sadness soaked in atmospheric indietronica where the guitars are so muted down in the mix you're never sure they are really there.

02. Gaf Y La Estrella De La Muerte "Pyramids"

Read this

The Grower of the Year.

01. I Am Dive "Fear Of Missing Out"

While on vacation in Spain last August I was asked twice what album I concider the best this year, both times I replied: "Fear Of Missing Out" by I Am Dive. The first time I had to go to my spotify account to give a friend a listen. The second time the man who asked me yelled: "Yeah, I know those guys! They are kind of underground kings right there in their hometown of... ummm, Sevilla, right?" Right.

Despite their recognition in the indie scene, Esteban Ruiz (vocals, guitar, programming) and José A. Perez (programming, guitar) live their lives far from public eye. We rarely see the news from the band, the live schedule is rather scarce, and the social networks may stay dormant for months. It's partly intentional, partly not. There is a thing I don't feel I have the right to reveal (I believe I've read the band speaking on this but right now I can't find it anywhere) and all the great things like great new album, distribution deal with Rough Trade, opening for Explosions In The Sky all are diminished by the reason why Esteban is forced to perform alone. Fingers crossed for the future, because this band is one of a kind, and our broken world would be even worse without I Am Dive and their unique blend of indietronica, post-rock and trip-hop.

суббота, 21 декабря 2019 г.

The Best Of 2019. TOP50. 21-30

30. La Linea Roja «Todo Esta Bien»

(p)Pikotako

SPTF

The band formerly known as Temas Incomodos - and more recently as simply Incomodos - underwent the second name change and released their strongest effort as La Linea Roja. Indie/alt rock at its best.

29. Apartamentos Acapulco «El Resto Del Mundo»

(p)El Ejercito Rojo/Volcan

BNDCMP

For the first time I tried to listen to it via the mobile phone speaker, and it just didn't work. The next time I used on-year headset to regain the better sound quality - and that's when that perfectly detailed shoegaze/space rock album started to shine.

28. Xavier Calvet «Crosswinds»

(p)BCore Disc

BNDCMP

The solo project by the Bullitt's mastermind who has already appeared in this list as 1/4 of Jamie 4 President. Xavier is a gifted singer/songwriter with a penchant for writing breezy folk songs with the light inside.

27. Ma Pogo «Pour Ceux Qui Ne Sont Plus La»

(p)El Hombre Bala

BNDCMP

The electro rock married with post punk and French chanson tradition to excellent results.

26. Espiritusanto «Exfuturo»

(p)Jabalina Musica

BNDCMP

This warm and sunny dreampop has grown out from "Just Like Heaven" and the sweetest moments of, dunno… Ride?

25. Side Chick «Side Chick»

(p)Foehn

BNDCMP

The rare bird in the Foehn Records' nest - a rock band. You know, when 'rock' means 'rock'.

24. El Tercer Semestre «四»

(p)Kame Hame

BNDCMP

I have no idea what the name of this album means but it doesn't matter. All that matters is the fact that eclectic post rock/math rock is gorgeous.

23. Pandorado «Seres»

(p)RockCD

SPTF

The debut album by the Leonese alt-rock quintet. Produced by Manuel Cabezali.

22. Parade «La Deriva Sentimental»

(p)Jabalina Musica

BNDCMP

The warmest effort by the longstanding indietronica project of Antonio Galvan. The beautiful songs to dive into and dream on.

21. Medalla «Medalla»

(p)El Segell

BNDCMP

The considerable step forward for the Barcelona-based loud rock combo.

31 - 40

41 - 50

HONORABLE MENTION

TOP10 EPs

воскресенье, 27 августа 2017 г.

#Sonorama20. The Report. Part Two

When we left Pin&Pon djs’ session at 02:30 we felt almost dead. But after we came to our beloved Kinedomus (surely the best place to enjoy Sonorama) and had a good sleep in the dead silence we felt our batteries fully recharged. So at 12:00 sharp we stood on the Plaza de Sal waiting for the new grace to fall upon us.

10/08/17. The Morning. Main location: Plaza de Sal

Gimnastica were the perfect band to start the morning right. Their songs were melodic, and the band was brimming with positive energy.

Apartamentos Acapulco are widely considered the new hopes of Spanish shoegaze. They even come close to the “new Los Planetas” tag. In the middle of their performance it was slightly spoiled by the problems with the gear but these problems were not so crucial as those for Dorian last night, so the band continued without slowing down. As many other shoegaze bands, live Apartamentos Acapulco sounded louder than on albums. For me they seemed closer to Modelo de Respuesta Polar than to Los Planetas (it’s neither good nor bad as I adore them both).

Then Alberto Y Garcia stepped onto. They were good but this was not our kind of music, so after 4-5 songs we started roaming around the old town. As the most people gathered in Plaza del Trigo, the tiny streets around were empty almost completely, and when we stepped onto another callejon we saw a bunch of people with some luggage. Initially shocked, we recognized the musicians of Leon Benavente in these people. I couldn’t help but rushed to them with my classic ‘sorry men we’re your fans from Russia, we’ve got all your releases physically, could we please make a photo with you!’ They seemed having fun of this situation, and they told us they would be this day’s concierto secreto. We expressed our doubts of being able to attend this as there were so many people on Plaza, and wished them the good journey, as we knew that this day they should fly to Tenerife to take part in Phe Festival.

After this unexpected but extremely pleasant encounter we returned to Plaza de Sal to see Willis Drummond. Willis Drummond are from the French part of Basque Country but they’re not considered foreign band as they are singing in basque and are managed by Panplona-based booking agency Black Izar having many concerts all across Spain. The band played the highly energetic show which I summed up with the words: "The best post-hardcore possible". Now I can only repeat that.

Fortunately, we managed to find ourselves a place on the overcrowded Plaza del Trigo to see Leon Benavente. They proved one more time that they are probably the best live act of Spain #rightnow. They’ve got the magic.

10/08/17. The Night. Location: Recinto ferial

Another band to have the same kind of magic (though staying on the lower level of publicity) is Yo, Estratosferico. The Guadalajara-based quartet mixes guitar-driven indie rock with post-hardcore angularity and 2nd wave emo dramatic tension to the perfect results. Additionally, these four musicians are the great performers. And the fact that rare person knows about it causes me real physical pain. ‘We’re just trying to get better with every show’ – Jose told us when we met him the next day. But even if Yo, Estratosferico are not intended to gather thousands, they deserve much more spectators than they got now cos they are not another faceless band.

Ivan Ferreiro presented his most recent release “Casa” ((p)2017 Warner). As for me, his two latest albums (“Val Minor – Madrid” and the aforementioned “Casa”) contain good songs but no hits comparable to “Turnedo” or “NYC” (with possible exception of "Pajaro Azul"). So the show was somehow the reflection of it. It was 100% alive and kicking - but I'm still dreaming about Ivan's concert that would include the rocking numbers like “Cancion Humeda” or “Paraisos Perdidos”.

After having some wine in VIP zone listening to Coque Malla who was performing on Aranda stage we decided to skip the Sidonie’s show (as the considerable crowd seemingly hard to enter already gathered there before the main stage) in favor of having ourselves more wine and listening to it from afar. Then we trod our path to the Burgos stage. At the moment when we came Flamingo Tours were finalizing their set. On the first line right at the security bars we met Rodrigo Valiente from The Trunks. I warned him that I’m going to shout all the Radiohead tracks out as loud as I can, and as I got no musical voice it might cause him pain in the ears. He told me it’s OK – but in the middle of the set he disappeared without saying anything, so I still have the fear I annoyed him to the core with my crooked screams.

Paranoid Android was some kind of coverband supergroup consisting of the members of Igloo, Eladio y Los Seres Queridos and Rufus T. Firefly and playing the songs of “OK Computer” (in fact their program included numbers from “Pablo Honey” and “Kid A” as well). All these people gathered onstage could make it too chaotic to perform so the show was divided onto some sections led by different bands. It started with Igloo, then Eladio Santos and his band stepped into with their two-song sequence. After that Victor and Julia from Rufus appeared onstage to play some songs including “Idiotheque” from “Kid A”. The show was finalized with Igloo covering “Let Down” and “Creep”. All three bands did the best they could creating one of the most interesting events of the fest.

The next point of interest in our schedule was the performance of Niños Mutantes but when we escaped the Burgos stage we saw the largest crowd we had ever witnessed before the second-rank stage, so it was apparent we had no chance to see Niños Mutantes from any proper place. Disappointed we went to VIP zone to have ourselves some beer or calimocho (and we had it, yeah!) and to wait for the moment when we could go for gaining two good places before Xoel Lopez in fair competition with other festivaleros. Right after Niños Mutantes went offstage, and the whole crowd started migrating to Ribera, we came to the far left of Aranda stage and settled down there in couple of meters from the security bar. Not ideal but quite appropriate.

As we were intended to wait here more than 45 minutes, I escaped the location to see what was happening at Burgos stage where Capsula were paying their homage to the late David Bowie. Capsula is another band whose live performances you shouldn’t miss. I stayed there for 15 minutes, and these 15 minutes were fantastic.

Earlier it was declared that Xoel Lopez would play the set of songs based on his Deluxe past. In fact it was 50/50 Deluxe and Xoel. Everybody would expect him to perform "Que No" and "Historia Universal" - what he surely did. Other ones - like "Cielo de Madrid" and especially "See You in London" were the relative surprises. Xoel performed being backed by the full band that included trumpets, sax and percussion. Closer to the end of the set he stopped singing and revealed that 20th anniversary coincided with his own 40th birthday now. While he was talking Javier Ajenjo entered the stage and made his heartfelt congratulations to the old friend.

среда, 30 ноября 2016 г.

Best of 2016. EPs and mini albums

There's a lot of people around who tell us creating lists is stupid. Fuck'em. Creating lists is cool indeed, and it always gonna be cool. So I'd like to start my regular year-end ranking process from the EPs and mini albums Top10. It wasn't any easy to confine the strict 10 out of multiple items of the great music in shortened formats. I was forced to strip out the extended plays of such cool bands and musicians as The Trunks, Lua Gramer, Nuria Graham, La Maniobra De Q as well as the pack of Canarian delegates Ponyboy, Cumbia Ebria, Edui Bercedo and Noiseed.

Let's talk a bit about the structure of Top10. Geographically it covers vast territories from Galicia (Bestlife) to mainland southends (Murciano Total, Apartamentos Acapulco) through metropolitan area (Pasavento, The Levitants, Disciplina Atlantico) and then to Baleares (The Prussians), African enclave Ceuta (Higinio Orduña) and Canary Islands (Estratega Pencherjevsky, San Borondon).
In terms of acquaintance there are 3 bands that could be labeled as 'Sonorama discoveries' (Disciplina Atlantico, The Prussians, The Levitants) - I was learned about their existence but never listened to them before I saw their names on the Sonorama 2016 poster. 3 more bands (Pasavento, Higinio Orduña, Apartamentos Acapulco) are totally new to me while the other 4 are 'the old pals' (Bestlife, San Borondon, Estratega Pencherjevsky, Murciano Total).
Genrewise the list could be divided onto two large 'umbrella brands' of contemporary rock music - indie rock and electro, but it can be easily structurized further to the lesser particles. Of the 'electro' albums the one of Higinio Orduña is the foggy indietronica/ folktronica, while other two are inclined to synthpop (Murciano Total) and futuristic slo-mo techno that perfectly fits for sci-fi movies' soundtracks (Estratega Pencherjevsky). Of the 'indie' albums Apartamentos Acapulco are pure and perfect dreampop - this year is really the year of dreampop for me. San Borondon are the sunny bright power pop with catchy tunes and lo/fi sound. Disciplina Atlantico are the noisy post-punk band whose sound is as energetic as icy-cold. I really want more from them in 2017 as their eponimous 4-song EP is the good appetizer with these stop/start dynamics and masterful use of upbeats. For two 'The …s' bands there's some kind of strange situation. First I saw The Levitants performing on Sonorama's Burgos stage they seemed like the Spanish version of The Foals to me, but studio recordings are far from this impression. Otherwise, The Prussians didn't sound like The Foals onstage, but from the laptop speakers their "Kerala" EP sounds much in these British indie stalwarts' vein.
My dearest Bestlife (Under Your Seat) have added the new elements to their music so the sound pallette (yes, I use this cliche for the first time this year) of "Invincible Anymore" is quite diverse - from the Paul Weller'esque power pop "She's A Whisper" to grunge-laden rocker "As If I Needed Someone". Being compared to their previous "Taking You Back Home" EP the new mini album sounds like the improvement or the logical progression, and it's really interesting what will they do on the next effort.
Pasavento. This Madrid-based four-piece explores the sound I adore the most: the mixture of the 90's post-shoegaze britrock with hardly distinguished but tasty touches of intelligent 00's post-post-hardcore (The Jealous Sound's "A Gentle Reminder" is the best reference to what I'm trying to describe by the newly invented term 'intelligent post-post-hardcore'). All six tracks of "Tuvo Su Momento" are perfect, but they could be even better if they were ten (or twelve).