Monte Del Oso "Existen Moscas Que Se Relajan Durante El Vuelo"

Monte Del Oso "Existen Moscas Que Se Relajan Durante El Vuelo" (p)2016 Farmway

With the influences on their sleeves - early Superchunk, Sugar (for the advanced-level listeners I've got some more names: Edsel, Tsunami, Lotion) - Navarra's finest Monte Del Oso released the second album via the Farmway Records imprint. The first album was the pure delight, and the successor follows its way. I don't have much words in fact, as it's the kind of music where my heart really is, and when I listen to this music now I'm recalling alot of things like hanging out with my old music-oriented pals in university campus with tons of booze and completely no chicks, or collecting the compact cassettes with the handwritten credits and lyrics, or sticking the Henry Rollins and Dinosaur Jr. posters to the wall in my rented room (and you can't even imagine what it took to get Dinosaur Jr. poster in the deep suburbs of the 90's Russia)... We all know this emotion called nostalgia, and for me it turns into the bittersweet feeling when my youth is long lost and gone, but right now I've got something that relates Today's Me to these [not always] good old times.
Yet another brilliant album by Monte Del Oso. It's all you've got to know.

The best tracks: Las Personas Son Maravillosas Pero Yo No, Lo Nuestro Es Otra Cosa, Viva El Espiritu Deportivo

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Sr. Chinarro "El Progreso"

Sr. Chinarro "El Progreso" (p)2016 El Segell De Primavera

In the middle twenties of his fruitful career Antonio Luque found his new voice in melancholy. On the previous album "Perspectiva Caballera" he changed the direction from the vigorously paced and upbeat stride of the albums "¡Menos Samba!" and "Enhorabuena A Los Cuatro" to more subdued and sad semi-acoustic singer/songwriter rock. The new album should answer the question was it just the one-off excercise or a new trend for the renowned musician. 

Fortunately, the new album is 100% perfect again. "Perspectiva Caballera" was [arguably] the best Sr. Chinarro's album in years, and "El Progreso" is at least on par with the predesessor. Produced by the longtime friend J (Los Planetas) it delivers mostly the same emotions but in the slightly different way. The arrangements here are definitely deeper, broader, lusher and sometimes edgier but melodically it can be considered the logical progression of the "Perspectiva..." ideas (which, in its turn, can be considered the logical progression of such songs as. for example, "Quiromantico" from "El Por Que De Mis Peinados" and "La Cruz Verde" from "El Fuego Amigo"). The quality of the songwriting and the melodic intuition of Antonio is flawless, and we can only pray for this perfection to be prolonged on the subsequent Sr. Chinarro releases.

The best tracks: La Fiebre Del Oro, El Castigo, Fase Lunatica, El Progreso, Efectos Especiales

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Top20 albums of 2016 so far. Half-yearly report

The year is half over, so please find below the semi-annual results according to this blog.

20. Keiko "Within Keiko" (p)El Hombre Bala

19. Yes I M "Bora Bora" (p)Foehn

18. Biscuit "Biscuit" (p)La Castanya

17. Murciano Total "Enquinias" (p)El Genio Equivocado

16. Brian Hunt "Love", "Unlove" (p)self-released

15. Bestlife (Under Your Seat) "Invincible Anymore" (p)self-released

14. Leon Benavente "2" (p)Warner

13. Cala Vento "Cala Vento" (p)BCore Disc

12. Kasparov vs Deep Blue "Flare" (p)self-released

11. Monte Del Oso "Existen Moscas Que Se Relajan Durante El Vuelo" (p)Farmway
10. El Tercer Semestre "33 1/3" (p)Aloud Music

09. LostTapes "Let's Get Lost" (p)Mushroom Pillow

08. Power Burkas "Llarga Vida Al Taranna" (p)BCore Disc

07. Big Summer "Trigger" (p)El Genio Equivocado

06. Sorry Kate "Haven Hood" (p)Foehn

05. Linda Guilala "Psiconautica" (p) Elefant

04. Joan Colomo "Sistema" (p)BCore Disc

03. Trinidad "Karma" (p)El Hombre Bala

02. Berlina "Desertico" (p)Grabaciones A Montones

01. Viva Suecia "La Fuerza Mayor" (p)Subterfuge

I've never been a massive fan of shoegaze/dreampop movement embracing only pretty limited number of the fish (Slowdive, Ride, Catherine Wheel, early Lilys and Starflyer 59, to name a few) in the vast ocean. But this current top makes me feel like I've always been hiding the pack of Mazzy Star CDs under my pillow, as at least one third of this list can be [more or less directly] allocated to dreampop category.