There's a lot of people around who tell us creating lists is stupid. Fuck'em. Creating lists is cool indeed, and it always gonna be cool.
So I'd like to start my regular year-end ranking process from the EPs and mini albums Top10. It wasn't any easy to confine the strict 10 out of multiple items of the great music in shortened formats. I was forced to strip out the extended plays of such cool bands and musicians as
The Trunks,
Lua Gramer,
Nuria Graham,
La Maniobra De Q as well as the pack of Canarian delegates
Ponyboy,
Cumbia Ebria,
Edui Bercedo and
Noiseed.
Let's talk a bit about the structure of Top10. Geographically it covers vast territories from Galicia (
Bestlife) to mainland southends (
Murciano Total,
Apartamentos Acapulco) through metropolitan area (
Pasavento,
The Levitants,
Disciplina Atlantico)
and then to Baleares (
The Prussians), African enclave Ceuta (
Higinio Orduña) and Canary Islands (
Estratega Pencherjevsky,
San Borondon).
In terms of acquaintance there are 3 bands that could be labeled as 'Sonorama discoveries' (
Disciplina Atlantico,
The Prussians,
The Levitants) - I was learned about their existence but never listened to them before I saw their names on the
Sonorama 2016 poster.
3 more bands (
Pasavento,
Higinio Orduña,
Apartamentos Acapulco) are totally new to me while the other 4 are 'the old pals' (
Bestlife,
San Borondon,
Estratega Pencherjevsky,
Murciano Total).
Genrewise the list could be divided onto two large 'umbrella brands' of contemporary rock music - indie rock and electro, but it can be easily structurized further to the lesser particles. Of the 'electro' albums the one of
Higinio Orduña is the foggy indietronica/ folktronica,
while other two are inclined to synthpop (
Murciano Total) and futuristic slo-mo techno that perfectly fits for sci-fi movies' soundtracks (
Estratega Pencherjevsky).
Of the 'indie' albums
Apartamentos Acapulco are pure and perfect dreampop - this year is really the year of dreampop for me.
San Borondon are the sunny bright power pop with catchy tunes and lo/fi sound.
Disciplina Atlantico are the noisy post-punk band whose sound is as energetic as icy-cold. I really want more from them in 2017 as their eponimous 4-song EP is the good appetizer with these stop/start dynamics and masterful use of upbeats. For two 'The …s' bands there's some kind of strange situation. First I saw
The Levitants performing on Sonorama's Burgos stage they seemed like the Spanish version of
The Foals to me, but studio recordings are far from this impression. Otherwise,
The Prussians didn't sound like
The Foals onstage, but from the laptop speakers their "
Kerala" EP sounds much in these British indie stalwarts' vein.
My dearest
Bestlife (Under Your Seat) have added the new elements to their music so the sound pallette (yes, I use this cliche for the first time this year) of "
Invincible Anymore" is quite diverse - from the
Paul Weller'esque power pop "
She's A Whisper" to grunge-laden rocker "
As If I Needed Someone". Being compared to their previous "
Taking You Back Home" EP the new mini album sounds like the improvement or the logical progression, and it's really interesting what will they do on the next effort.
Pasavento. This Madrid-based four-piece explores the sound I adore the most: the mixture of the 90's post-shoegaze britrock with hardly distinguished but tasty touches of intelligent 00's post-post-hardcore (
The Jealous Sound's "
A Gentle Reminder" is the best reference to what I'm trying to describe by the newly invented term 'intelligent post-post-hardcore'). All six tracks of "
Tuvo Su Momento" are perfect, but they could be even better if they were ten (or twelve).
10.
The Levitants - "
Coimbra" (p)self-released
BANDCAMP
09.
Higinio Orduña - "
La Cuesta Del Recinto" (p)Discos Imaginarios
BANDCAMP
08.
Estratega Pencherjevsky - "
Conache" (p)self-released
BANDCAMP
07.
Apartamentos Acapulco - "
Justo Y Necesario" (p)Discos Imaginarios
BANDCAMP
06.
Murciano Total - "
Enquinias" (p)El Genio Equivocado
BANDCAMP
05.
The Prussians - "
Kerala" (p)GreenUFOs
SPOTIFY
04.
San Borondon - "
POP!" (p)self-released
BANDCAMP
03.
Disciplina Atlantico - "
Disciplina Arlantico" (p)Limbo Starr
BANDCAMP
02.
Bestlife (Under Your Seat) - "
Invincible Anymore" (p)self-released
BANDCAMP
01.
Pasavento - "
Tuve Su Momento" (p)self-released
