Alucinaria "La Ultima Rotacion Del Sol"

Alucinaria "La Ultima Rotacion del Sol" (p)2012 self-released

Love comes in mysterious ways. The great things seem to come out of nowhere. Some of them may be criminally overlooked because no one expects them to come out. Thou shalt not overlook because this is the real true gem.
Alucinaria are from Rosario, Argentina. Spearheaded by Pablo Comas, the singer/ the guitarist/ the primary songwriter, the band plays loud but intimate alternative rock with twists and turns. In terms of songs structures Pablo could be the 'divided at birth' brother of Mikel Izal, because aforementioned twists and turns (i.e. unexpected changes in rhythms and dynamics within the sole song) resemble me of the Madrid-based folk-rock reformators' modus operandi (taking in mind that Aluciarians are punching much harder). Despite the structural unlikeliness the songs of Alucinaria never lose the pop feel, and every one of them tightly keeps you safe within the realm of Her Majesty the Melody. Do the guys know some recipes of the local indigenous people's arsenal?

The best tracks: "Prende Y Apaga", "La Quimera", "La Fuente", "Bailarina Del Futuro"

Bandcamp - download the album for free

The 1st post of the year

Upon my return from 'dolce vita' of the holidays to the zombie-like cold hands of reality I must admit one important thing: the impact of the ruining Russian financial/economic system on the everyday life of one given Spanish rock lover is drastic - and is going to be more and more drastic during the newborn 2015. Gone are the generous crowdfunding donates and vinyl LP purchases - the only acceptable kind of the music purchase for me now is iTunes. Also, the growth (almost by 50% to middle-2014 indices as of now) of Rouble/Euro exchange rate kills all my intentions to attend more festivals in Spain this year (I'm forced to say farewell to PortAmerica, ContemPOPranea and Keroxen) - it all would be too expensive in roubles equivalence with my salary blocked on its current level. The alienation of Russia also has the psychological effect - for me as a person who always has pro-European vision it's painful enough to live within the society whose most part openly hates the ones like me. If the common proverb says that politics is dirt, then contemporary Russian politics is the pure shit. So, taking in mind the aforementioned, I should try harder to find something good in what the new year may propose to me.

Anyway, the 2015 has much to offer.

AMA, Pasajero, Alborotador Gomasio, Havalina, The New Raemon, McEnroe, Grushenka, Anni B Sweet, Dover, Dorian, Pumuky, Xoel Lopez - they're all going to release new albums this year. So it's gonna be the fantastic year in terms of amounts of the great new music.

The new cartel of Sonorama shows the first part of the bands confirmed - with Newman, Marlango, Zahara, Mucho, Supersubmarina, Xoel Lopez and the newly re-born Mercromina amongst them. So it's gonna be the great new edition of Sonorama.

And in addition I have the plans to undertake some 'rock espanol'-connected activities which would [probably] make me short of money and [most likely] never occur - but my hopes are high so I should keep my fingers crossed and my mouth shut.

Just look at the Sonorama poster - it's so cool, isn't it?

Some new songs to catch your attention: the pseudo chamber detective story of Anni B Sweet...


and Dover's foray into the territory of Veruca Salt:

Feliz Año Nuevo 2015!

My dear musicians and music lovers, Happy New Year to all of you and your families! And thank you very much for being here!
Here below I put the only photo that catched the moment of my greatest triumph connected to rock español. Yes, that guy in blue shirt in the upper left backstage (next to the girl in blue dress) - that's me. The foto is the property of Musica Para Marsupiales blog (musicaparamarsupiales.com).

Presentando la Banda. Hacia las Rocas Imantadas

Hacia las Rocas Imantadas "Noray" EP (p)2013
Hacia las Rocas Imantadas "aNИa" EP (p)2014

This is not the easiest subject to review. Definitely this is not the music for everyone. Sometimes it's not even 'music' in the common sense of the word. Not a band in the common sense of the word, Hacia las Rocas Imantadas is an audiovisual collective where the music, the novel or the video cannot (or shouldn't) be considered apart from other creative sides of the bandmembers. Conducted by the 38 years old 'man of many talents' David Bailon (apart from his musical self within Hacia las Rocas Imantadas he's also a writer and a comic book author) together with his adherents Miguel Castro and Maria Muñoz, these sound collages are like the sketches from the extraterrestrial scrapbook where nothing is stable and nothing is habitual. You hardly can find the songs here (there are vocal parts but the vocals are mostly the narrations). What you'll get are the crawling, fragile and hypnotic free-form tracks that incorporate the diverse range of sub-styles and influences like lo-fi, ambient, space rock, Fennesz, Fushitsusha and the early Mercury Rev and mix them to the point where it does not make sense trying to categorize the final result.
It is definitely an adventurous listening but it's a good adventure to dive into.

Hacia las Rocas Imantadas' Bandcamp page
Hacia las Rocas Imantadas' Facebook page

Presentando la Banda. Clara Plath "Hi Lola !!" EP

Clara Plath "Hi Lola !!" (p)2014 Self-released

I am very pleased to present to you the young and restless quintet from Murcia: Clara Plath. Unfortunately, this short album has come to my hands too late to be included in the "best of" lists but it surely deserves it. First of all - Clara Plath, the namesake frontwoman of the band, has the beautiful sexy voice. The second - the music the band plays is good old school indie rock with the prevalence of guitars. I have a bent for this kind of music so two names have occurred to me right from the dark times of the 90's indie: The Geraldine Fibbers and Helium. Both bands were led by the girls with the deep voices (Carla Bozulich and Mary Timony respectively), and both bands were making music so loud that it was in controvercy to those girls' pretty appearances. Apparently, the Clara's songs are more conventional in terms of structure and dynamics but the 'loud clanging guitars and the rich voice of the female singer over them' template is present anyway.
The five-piece consists, apart from the girl at the mic, of Roberto Lopez (guitars and keyboards), Gabi Holden (guitars), Miguel Angel (bass) and Sergio Nicolei (drums). They are able to create the sound which is coherent and thick. The "Hi Lola !!" EP contains six songs plus one hidden track, and all the songs are memorable (with "A Whisper" as the most memorable amongst them) footstompers less or more rocking. Any of these songs might be a hit single, so this short album is very close to perfection within the chosen way/style/genre, I suppose.

You can easily get the full album HERE and/or like the Facebook page HERE.

The post #101. Comps of Foehn Records and El Hombre Bala Records

It's the post #101, so it's something like starting a new life. And I'd like to start this new life with something good for everyone who reads these words.

Two of the best and most innovative labels of Spain - Foehn Records (Barcelona) and El Hombre Bala (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) - have released recently their compilations of the best 2014's tracks of the bands from their rosters. And you can get them for free on the labels' bandcamp pages (see the links below).

Foehn Records 2014

El Hombre Bala Records 2014

Enjoy.

P.S. I think I should make my own compilation right now. Oh, no - no 'right now'. A bit later.

The Best Of 2014. Album #1 (and the post #100)

The fractured.

The sick.

The morbid.

The hysterical.

The ironic.

The balladesque.

The minstrel-like.

The haunted.

The dark.

The spooky.

The best album of the year is...

...01. Joe La Reina "Bailamos Por Miedo"

(p)Subterfuge

Ademas, it's my post #100 in this blog! I should clebrate this somehow...