воскресенье, 23 февраля 2014 г.

Las Resenas Casuales. Letters From Reykjavik "Kalt"

Letters From Reykjavik "Kalt" (p)2012 El Hombre Bala Records


Another rock band from Canary Islands I have got acquainted with right now. Starting from year 2010 this six-piece indie-rock combo was successfully mixing La Habitacion Roja's translucent pop-psychedelia with shoegaze-touched sounds and angular post-punk bass lines in the vein of Galicians Igloo. The detached vocals of the singer Ruben Guisado made me recall at times The National's Matt Berninger, at times Esteban Ruiz from Sevilla-based band The Baltic Sea (another great band that I have to tell about a bit later).
I have found them some time ago through El Hombre Bala Records' bandcamp page and bought an album for just 1 Euro - but started listening only today while having my weekly trip from my native Tula to Moscow. And I was pretty shocked in a good way. This obscure band produced such the powerful music that within the first minute of the first song I came to conclusion that I was listening to the great band (yes, usually I make this kind of decisions pretty quickly). With every subsequent song I was frightened that the band might not be able to maintain the certain level of greatness they'd already approached - but every time my fears were false. It seemed like all six members of the Letters From Reykjavik had enough imagination to apply the amount of creative freedom into the tight structures of a post-punk based pop song. And don't forget about really cool melodies here.

Overall, "Kalt" is the powerful and melodic guitar-driven music that sounds fresh and can make you nod your head to every beat of the drums. Great album with no strings attached. It's so sad that the band finally called it quits last autumn after 4 years spent together.

The best tracks: Broken Fences, Suddenly, Ballad


вторник, 11 февраля 2014 г.

Las Resenas Casuales. Najwa "Rat Race"

Najwa "Rat Race" (p)2014 WEA Spain


Q: What is the most common thing between guinea pigs and the band Brasilian Girls?
A: Guinea pigs don't relate neither to Guinea nor to pigs.

First of all, this is NOT the dance-pop album. No.
Possibly, Najwa Nimri might think that her previous work "Donde Rugen Los Volcanes" which also has that distinct electronica sound was a bit lifeless. To breathe life into these cold and mechanistic sounds and beats the former actor had teamed up with New York-based electronic duo Brasilian Girls, and started to write songs in English, then went on full frontal on the disc's cover, then made provocative teaser videos, and finally appeared naked on the cover of the magazine. Wait, I forgot that she started singing in English.
The final result, however, doesn't differ much from "Volcanes". Where the new album lacks in nerve in comparison with the predecessor, "Rat Race" considerably exceeds it in accessibility and melodicism - but not to the point where it could be like 'well, "Donde Rugen Los Volcanes" was avant garde IDM and "Rat Race" is europop'. This is the record that seemingly strives to be 'pop', but really it isn't.
So I should declare that Najwa Nimri-Brasilian Girls team has finally created the album which apperas like Madonna's "Confessions On A Dancefloor" for the mentally rich.

And did I say that they made her to start singing in English?

The best tracks: Feed Us, Ballerina Legs, I've Seen that Face Before

воскресенье, 2 февраля 2014 г.

Las Resenas Casuales. La Habitacion Roja "La Moneda En El Aire"

La Habitacion Roja "La Moneda En El Aire" (p)2014 Mushroom Pillow


This is a short story rather than a review.
In the very end of September'2013 me and my mujer Tanya were standing on the top of el Teide, the sleeping volcano for whom the isle of Tenerife should say 'thank you' for this isle's mere existence. The day was mostly sunny and we could see the 4 more isles around in the waters of Atlantic ocean, but on the top of the mountain the velocity of the wind was around 46 kms per hour and it was really cold. Our clothes were not intended for such the conditions, so we had a little time to spend there. But when we were only climbing up the mountainside one of our intentions was to sing some song on the top.
This idea sounded pretty beautiful: two people in love with each other, in love with Tenerife, toda la Espana and the local rock music being standing upon the highest mountain of Spain and singing the great song in Spanish. The song was not chosen in advance, though.
The previous day we met Noe Ramirez from Pumuky and spent an hour with him, so [the song penned by the local Tenerifian band] 'Los Enamorados' could be a good choice to sing. But it was so cold out that the words came into my mouth suddenly, and the words were: "Si tu y yo eramos tan felices, si tu y yo eramos indestructibles". We shouted them out several times and then started climbing down. So one of the emblematic moments in our life was marked by La Habitacion Roja's song.

The new album is the logical successor of the previous effort, "Fue Electrico" - to the point where it could be named "Fue Electrico Pt. 2". Recorded in the famous Rockfield Studios by the band teamed up again with the producer Santi Garcia, the whole album seems to be carefully grown up from 'Ayer', the song which was chosen The Song Of The Year by many Spanish mass media two years ago. So, if you liked "Fue Electrico" much, the new album is the fruit for you.

The best tracks: La Moneda En El Aire, No Quiero Ser Como Tu, Si Tu Te Vas (Magnifica Desolacion)