Pumuky "No Sueltes Lo Efímero"(p)2025 Keroxen

"Our songs are mostly about love, but almost none of them are about romantic love," the closing statement of Pumuky’s latest interview to La Provincia explains a lot about Jaír Ramírez’s creative approach.

Love as loss, love as obsession, love as a heavy burden… That’s where he used to tread.

The average listener's apathy is killing me. "Castillo Interior", the double EP released five years ago, should have attracted to Pumuky at least some portions of Jamie Stewart’s (Xiu Xiu) and Jim Tamborello’s (Dntel) fanbases. But it didn’t. I hope now the things are gonna change.

Pumuky has once again become a band—Mariano (bass) and Albert (drums) have joined the lineup. How long were Jaír and Noé on their own—seven years? Eight? They needed to spend that time adjusting to changed circumstances: starting families, the birth of daughters... The things like that. The tracks for "Castillo Interior" were recorded by Jaír at night on a laptop while Nayra and Gara were asleep. The new album was recorded at La Mina, Raúl Pérez’s Granada-based recording studio responsible for my last year's Top3 albums.  

There’s a tangible hope that "No Sueltes Lo Efímero" will hit the mark. All three pilot singles received a unanimous reaction, often dubbed "universal acclaim". Journalists, fans, and casual listeners alike are thrilled. "Lo Recuerdo Todo" (the second single) feels like the heaviest song in the band’s back catalogue. Jaír once shared the story of "La Singularidad"—the third single—on Twitter: the song traces back to "Erizar La Alma" from Pumuky’s 2003 debut demo. 259 months in the making.  

Every Pumuky album is like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle: no two are alike, yet each undeniably belongs to the same picture. The same multiverse. "No Sueltes Lo Efímero" seamlessly connects with "Plus Ultra" (2011) and "Justicia Poética" (2015): shoegaze and slowcore, a bradycardic rhythm, and a velour-lined wall of sound. Ethereal electronics and guitars—so loud and dense, yet creating a sense of fragility, a half-reality of what’s happening.

Plus Jaír’s voice—a voice "from the other side," a voice "from another planet." Utterly detached from both earth and sky.  

The album has no weak spots. They could have randomly picked three other songs as singles and still gotten the same universal acclaim. "Terriblemente Bello", "Estudio Sobre Mi Rabia" and "Hablando Con Los Animales" - this selection could have been as strong as any other.

What haven’t I mentioned yet? Myself. For me, this is deeply personal story. My favorite and historically significant band (alongside Yo, Estratosférico). My friends. I’ve hugged their wives, I’ve given their daughters the toy rabbits. I’m as biased as it gets, and I’m absolutely thrilled to be that biased when my favorite band's new album comes out.

That’s how it goes.

Detergente Líquido "Si En Verano Estamos Solos" Special: The Review (of sorts)

Nacho Vegas. Lolo from Hazte Lapón (a valid option, by the way. Alberto once told me: “If Lolo wanted to, he could write like me. But I could never write like him”). Santi Diego from Capitán Sunrise and Santi Balmes from-you-know-where. They are the ones named the best lyricist amongst Spanish rock musicians. Alberto Rodway’s name also pops up in those lists regularly. This man can make a song out of whatever’s lying on the table in front of him, name-dropping both Nacho Vegas and Unai Simón in the process. He gives a song a name like “Though It Doesn’t Seem Like This, Spring Comes Even to Wastelands Full of Construction Debris”. And without a doubt, Alberto is the most open about the quirks of his creative process. He shares “behind-the-songs” stories on Facebook and lists the rules he follows when writing lyrics, and so on. For me, as a songwriter myself, it is incredibly fascinating. These are the things you won’t learn in songwriting courses.

I’m not even the most “overseas” fan of Detergente Líquido—they’ve got a bit of a fanbase in the US and Japan. If I remember this correctly, an American fan once wrote in a review of “Trambahía” with regret: “The most memorable moment in the song only appears once and doesn’t repeat”. Justine Frischmann of Elastica once said: “If you want to hear more of our choruses, turn the songs on again!” Sounds like a plan.

"Trambahía" is the song that truly stands out. I insist you should go to the bandcamp page below and read/translate its lyrics.

There are nine songs on the album. Two of them are “upbeat” guitar-driven songs (“Frasco (Envíame La Guitarra)” and “De Todo Lo Que Hicimos Mal En Los 90”). Other two are the jangle-pop in its purest (“Resumen Ejecutivo” and “Opel Corsa Negro”). A danceable synth-pop track (“El Puente Imposible”). A 'bossa nova for a marching band' (“Acordes Marabot" with a rooster’s crow right in the middle). All of these blend together perfectly thanks to the band’s sound engineer and producer, Juan Antonio Mateos (who also owns the recording studio Grabaciones Sumergidas) understands the band like no one else. And Ernie Rodríguez, Detergente Líquido’s drummer, is his right-hand man in the studio. The bassist Fran Muñoz has production experiences too. Félix García, who plays both guitar and synths, surely contributed a lot to the perfect balance of those instruments on the album. Damn, I should have asked Alberto how he and Laura choose what songs they are to sing! It’s all about the balance as well: nine songs can’t be split evenly between two people, but they tried.

And right in this moment, I’m happy. For me, this is that particular moment of happiness surrounded by a sea of uncertainty and vague daily routine.

SI EN VERANO ESTAMOS SOLOS BANDCAMP

Detergente Líquido "Si En Verano Estamos Solos" Special: The Interview (of sorts)

Basically I've planned to declare this week a "Detergente Líquido Week" and be posting here something about one of my favorite bands on the everyday basis. It didn’t work out. But I also couldn’t let myself sink completely into melancholy and miss the release of the new album "Si En Verano Estamos Solos". So yesterday I pulled myself together, wrote to Alberto Rodway (guitar, vocals, songwriting), and asked him a couple of questions (one is a good one, I suppose, while another is kinda silly). I’ve never interviewed anyone before, and that wasn’t the goal this time either. I just wanted to ask Alberto something that no one else would ask him. So, I did it. To Alberto’s credit, even the silly question he answered very thoroughly.

Q: The question is about your lyrical identity. What changes occurred to it over this long journey between "Todo Es Tan Fantástico..." and "Trambahía," from the boredom of "Now I don’t care about what’s left to come, I’m tired" to the desolation of "in that, parallel to the highway, Trambahía was moving, unperturbed and empty just like me"? Did this persona get more disenchanted over these past years?

A: Well, I wrote “Todo Es Tan Fantástico Cómo El Cartel De Una Farmacia” fourteen years ago. I think up to now, I’ve gone through a personal process that is the same for anyone. You reach a certain age where you start wondering what’s going on with life, with what’s ahead, and if you’re not completely satisfied, you start overthinking what’s happening, what needs to be changed, why yes, and why not. And the way I’ve navigated this path, I believe, is somewhat captured in the songs in Detergente’s albums, which are written chronologically. The process, as I see it, has been something like a vital boredom and exhaustion that led to bewilderment, where I was asking myself a ton of questions - and little by little finding answers and mechanisms that maybe didn’t resolve the issue but at least gave me some peace of mind. And also, very importantly, it’s the process of realizing that things are the way they are and aren’t going to change much, and it’s better to accept that than to fight and get angry about what will never happen. And even though there’s a certain emptiness in life, it seems to me that it’s a feeling we can all experience just by thinking for a moment about the real lack of meaning in our existence. I think only the one who has never stopped to reflect on these things can say he is happy. The rest of us might have moments of happiness, but they’re always surrounded by a sea of disturbance and, above all, the everyday grudge, the vague routine. And I think the main deal at the end of the day, is to be aware of this and do whatever it takes to get through it as best as possible for you, whether it’s to sex, or drugs, or religion, songs, plates of rice with milk, or whatever anyone may choose. More or less, that’s what the mankind has done throughout its entire history.

Q: Oh, it obviously look like huge amount of work - to answer the questions this way. So I start thinking maybe three questions is too much?

A: You may ask whatever you're going to. It's like, just this question is a tough one.

Q: "Resumen Ejecutivo" is the first Detergente Líquido song marked "explicit" on Spotify. Starting to use swear words in a song—what can you tell me about that? Was it like revealing another facet of your persona, or a joke, or something else?

A: The issue with labelling “explicit” isn’t our fault. I don’t think we’ve ramped up the level of swearing in general. We’ve always used swear words because we use them when we talk. We've got a song called “I’d rather be ignorant to knowing if I’m an asshole”, and we also used the word “asshole” in “The Wind Turbines”. And the word “shit” shows up in a bunch of our tracks. We don't write songs for sappy Walt Disney movies. What was happened is that in the past we were always the ones to decide whether a song had explicit language or not, and we always said no because, for me personally, that label is bullshit. If the words are in the dictionary, they can be used. There are no good or bad words. It's only the people who make good or bad interpretations, and they’re the ones who should carry an “explicit” label for themselves. But this particular album was processed by an aggregator, not us, and they decided to put this label on it.

Q: So, Alberto, I've got to tell you that, thanks to my Sporify account is based in India, I already get the access to the album, 4 hours before the rest of Europe, so I'm listening to it right now. For my ear, it sounds way more cohesive than [your previous album] "Contumacia En Primavera", way more "as a whole".

A: This was exactly the idea to make it sound more as a whole. From the mere moment we got these songs we wanted them to be the "tool kit"-type of album, not just another set of songs. When you listen, you may notice those details and small things that are repeated from one song to another and like. Though I think we've kinda stopped halfway. For the next one I've got the idea to make it even more cohesive, haha.

La Madre De Todas Las Listas 2024

He recopilado las listas de lo mejor del año 2024. Las que he conseguido encontrar. Para simplificar el proceso, sólo 10 primeras posiciones de cada lista están recopiladas. 

Las listas de Rockdelux, El Diario y ABC Cultural no incluidas debido a lo que están bajo paywall, que de momento es un problema para mí. Tampoco incluidas son las listas sin orden clasificado y las emitidas por medio de un podcast. 

Además, he implementado una puntuación para las posiciones en las listas: de un puntito para el puesto 10 hasta los 25 puntos para el 1er puesto (la escala se muestra en la última fila de la tabla). Según esta valoración, el ganador del año es "Elige tú propia aventura" de Carolina Durante. "Alcalá Norte" es el segundo firme, y "Cancionero De Los Cielos" de Viva Belgrado es el tercero (aunque de frecuencia los terceros son los Biznaga).

Löbison "De Lo Que No Se Habla No Se Olvida"

All the most interesting things are made avoiding thinking too much of the commercial prospects - and there's another proof. Meet Löbison, a tiny little project from Seville not every indie blog would write about.

Juamba d'Estroso has got the "blues" voice - you know that deep low cracked baritone-type of voices. So I would rather expext him playing something in the vein of Madrugada or lesser-known chicagoans The Great Crusades. But what he plays in fact is the 'genre-fluid' underground music rooted in chamber pop and garage rock. 

Listening to his most recent album I wonder if he's aware of French guitar-driven experimentalists Experience because the tracks like "Normalizando La Honestidad" showcase the same approach Michel Cloup and his peers often use, mixing the dense guitar sound with shamanic drums and spoken-word-switched-to-shrieking vocals.

Moreover, I'd like to trace some links to Railroad Jerk, underestimated New York-based indie pub rockers who were one of the Matador Records's first signees. 

The sound is dense and definitely not cheap (what you might expect from a low profile band), the mood is rather neurotic. Juamba's voice takes on operatic tones when needed. “No Me Quiero Morir” goes strictly to the list of the year's best, and so does the album as a whole.

BNDCMP 

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" 

BC 

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" 

YM

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" 

BC 

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" 

BC

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" 

BC

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" 

AM

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"

BC

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"

YM

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"

BC

Read this

The Grower of the Year.

01. I Am Dive "Fear Of Missing Out"

BC

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.

An Introduction

41 - 50

31 - 40

21 - 30

11 - 20

Lo mejor de 2023. Top 50 Albums, 11-20

BC = Bandcamp, SP = Spotify

20. Burro "Burro"

BC

A side project of vocalist Beatriz Montiel of Trice and acoustic guitarist Conrado Isasa (a room with a view, Isasa) makes slow-burning songs whose mood goes either to Cocteau Twins or to post-rock. Actually, there are only two instruments here: an acoustic guitar and a voice. More precisely, 'the voices' - Isasa is silent but Beatriz uses different singing techniques to sound like multiple singers. 

19. Rayo "Turbocapitalismo 3000"

SP

Madrid-based female trio started in the post-Hinds world, and if they only wanted to they might have been treading the path of those trying to replace Ginebras from their fem-punk/pop leaders position. But apparently they didn't. The trio took the left turn now sounding like the arithmetic mean between Las Odio (with whom they share the guitarist Agata) and Hickeys - another Madrid all-female combo inclined to the vast spectre of genres from kraut to Midwest emo. For Rayo the Midwest emo is hardly a thing, instead of it the Talking Heads and "So"-era Peter Gabriel influences are showing through.

18. Guineu "Una Sacsejada"

SP

The feather-light indie pop of the young Catalan Aida Jimenez's second album demonstrates how shamelessly inventive pop-punk can be when you are influenced NOT by Avril Lavigne.

The author herself says that the charm of her music lies in the dissonance between positively sounding melodies and lyrical trash. I can neither confirm nor deny this since I don't speak Catalá, but in an interview Aida revealed the main idea of the lyrics as a journey through different facets of the expression “Joder, estoy jodida” (“Fuck, I’m fucked”). Joan Colomo (Unfinished Sympathy, Zeidun, La Celula Durmiente and elsewhere) reviewing this album puts it more softly: “Hey, I’m not feeling good actually because I’m getting older and stuff happens to me, of which I haven't been warned."

17. Capitán Sunrise "Playlist Para El Apocalipsis"

SP

Santí Diego and his band have released a new album full of indie pop, danceable tunes and bittersweet lyrics about little people in a big world. Regardless of what Santi sings about the music is sunny and joyful like the sun accidentally pouring upon your face. It’s impossible to resist its charm. Autumn blues? Now I know a great remedy, folks!

16. Uniforms "Trance"

BC 

I don't really get the current status of the band. Months ago they posted a message in their social media speaking, inter alia: "This is not a definite farewell, it's just a little see you later, but who knows..." I still cross my fingers hoping them to return someday, but if it's not the case, well... At least they brought us 2.5 albums of top-notch shoegaze during their run. 

15. Anacronía "Euritmia"

BC

It's the second album of the improvisational supergroup consisting of K0manec1, Blue Rondo and Audiometría members - all notable representatives of the Canary Islands' experimental sub-scene. They got themselves Rolands, Corgs and Moogs, grabbed various flutes and even didgeridoos. The result is half an hour of timeless electronic music with live (but heavily processed) guitars and the slight touches of ethno for both the brain and the body - with this music you can relax in a comfortable chair with your eyes closed, or you can stand up and unleash your motoric instincts.

 

14. Alexanderplatz "Noches Blancas, Mañanas Negras"

BC

If this disc consisted of 9 songs it would be a contender for the Album of the Year without a doubt. But it consists of 11. I personally don't like "Ascética Básica" and "Cada Vez Me Echas Menos De Menos". Anyway, you can imagine how great is the rest of the album based on album's position in the list.

The former leader of the iconic "sad indie pop" duo Klaus & Kinski Alejandro Martinez Moya can create beautifully soft and endlessly sad songs - and he does so effortlessly. Except for those two tracks mentioned above.

13. Pan "Salva Mil Inviernos"

BC

It's so easy to identify who was at the helm during the recording sessions for this album, but it could be a great mistake to put all the merit solely on the producers. The impact of Manuel Cabezalí and Victor Cabezuelo is obvious to everyone who's familiar with Havalina and/or Rufus T. Firefly back catalogues - however, this impact is not formative. The only thing systemically important is the songwriting of Teresa Martinez. 

12. Los Jaguares De La Bahía "Do It Yourself"

SP

The Paco Loco-led band gravitationally pulls people from Furia Trinidad, Turmalina, Tiburona and Subterráneos to mutually create music that is strangely attractive and completely sick at the same time.

Do you remember the band Thinking Fellers Union Local #282? Los Jaguares De La Bahía use the same approach as the aforementioned Californians: noise, no wave, let's steal a piece from Kraftwerk, avant-garde, some great melody, extraneous noise, someone knocking a boiling kettle with a chair leg, another great melody, wait.... do someone remember why (and how) we came here?

I clearly exaggerate, but I hope you get the idea.

11. Sidonie "Marc, Axel Y Jes"

SP

Mark Ros turned 49 this year, ending up seeing a therapist to process the communication problems (could we call it unexpected for a man who has been successfully cultivating the reckless stage persona for decades). His band turned 30. This new album is his way to tell us: “We’re having kinda birthday party here... Let's have beer and pizza?" Beer and pizza. Nothing extra. Sometimes it can impress much more than the gloss, shine and swaggy show-off. Having returned to the settings of "Fascinado" and "Costa Azul" albums, the band recorded ten simple songs that fit perfectly being placed side by side to “fa-fa-fa-fa-fascinado” rather than to any of the newer records.

An Introduction

41 - 50

31 - 40

21 - 30

01 - 10