I am biased. I should declare it beforehand cos I know this time I can’t be objective. Frankly, there’s nothing to do with objectiveness in my reviews from the very first moment I started doing it. But this time I’m biased quite significantly even by my habitual measures because sometimes you run into the things that make you happy on a molecular level and you can’t stand it just letting it loose.
The 21st century spoiled the term ‘emo’ making it some kind of the death sentence, a black mark. People forgot it was first coined back in the 80’s, and initially it was an abbreviation for ‘emotionally charged hardcore’. All through the 90’s it had being used for the bands of the Sunny Day Real Estate and Braid streak (later these bands were framed into the ‘2nd wave emo’ subgenre to separate them from those like Rites Of Spring and Embrace with whom frankly they had little in common). And I don’t get it completely how it all jumped from The Appleseed Cast’s “Mare Vitalis” to sticking the 'emo' tag to My Chemical Romanceshit albums in two year span.
The 21st century spoiled the term ‘emo’ making it some kind of the death sentence, a black mark. People forgot it was first coined back in the 80’s, and initially it was an abbreviation for ‘emotionally charged hardcore’. All through the 90’s it had being used for the bands of the Sunny Day Real Estate and Braid streak (later these bands were framed into the ‘2nd wave emo’ subgenre to separate them from those like Rites Of Spring and Embrace with whom frankly they had little in common). And I don’t get it completely how it all jumped from The Appleseed Cast’s “Mare Vitalis” to sticking the 'emo' tag to My Chemical Romance
The Guadalajara-based combo started making records back in 2014. With one EP and two [too cool to go unnoticed] longplays in the backpack the guys set the most recent 6 track EP "Aves Raras" to be their most ambitious record. Initially a four piece, now Jose, Diego, Oscar and Manu recruited the longtime friend Alberto “Tito“ Sanz (formerly of Thomb - the local band with the 'family ties' to Yo, Estratosferico) as the second guitar player to build up the sound they wanted to recreate with due precision.
Structurally the songs on “Aves Raras” come close to post-hardcore as they’ve got these stop-start dynamics, unusual time signatures and the kind of riffing usually labeled ‘angular’. Tone-wise the EP relates – on par with all the previous works of the band – to the 2nd wave emo rock as the voice of Jose is charged with emotion galore. His trademark singing style makes him one of the most memorable voices of the scene. Finally, the EP befriends the jangly edgy guitar playing style of post-millennial indie rock. Summing it all up the EP produces the full-bodied brooding and cathartic impression. If there’s an allegory to describe the difference between “Aves Raras” and the previous albums I’d like to suggest this one: imagine the band that usually played in the extremely small room stepping out into the greater hall. They might play the same music but it would sound quite different as there’s more space and air in there.
The EP contains two tracks the closest Yo, Estratosferico ever get to a hit: “Oporto” (a city or a metro station?) and “Todo Madrid Habla Mal De Ti”. But my by far favourite track is “Palido Y Salvaje” – the most unconventional and uncompromising track on the album. The most post-hardcore track. The most 2nd wave emo track. I’d like to live in the world where “Palido Y Salvaje” could be a massive hit.
Structurally the songs on “Aves Raras” come close to post-hardcore as they’ve got these stop-start dynamics, unusual time signatures and the kind of riffing usually labeled ‘angular’. Tone-wise the EP relates – on par with all the previous works of the band – to the 2nd wave emo rock as the voice of Jose is charged with emotion galore. His trademark singing style makes him one of the most memorable voices of the scene. Finally, the EP befriends the jangly edgy guitar playing style of post-millennial indie rock. Summing it all up the EP produces the full-bodied brooding and cathartic impression. If there’s an allegory to describe the difference between “Aves Raras” and the previous albums I’d like to suggest this one: imagine the band that usually played in the extremely small room stepping out into the greater hall. They might play the same music but it would sound quite different as there’s more space and air in there.
The EP contains two tracks the closest Yo, Estratosferico ever get to a hit: “Oporto” (a city or a metro station?) and “Todo Madrid Habla Mal De Ti”. But my by far favourite track is “Palido Y Salvaje” – the most unconventional and uncompromising track on the album. The most post-hardcore track. The most 2nd wave emo track. I’d like to live in the world where “Palido Y Salvaje” could be a massive hit.
