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понедельник, 23 декабря 2019 г.

The Best Of 2019. TOP50. 01-10


I’m curious what people may think about being included into my annual poll. The people, you know, who are in the list and who have no idea, basically, why. It goes like this: one day Facebook informs them of a post that mentions their album as a national TOP50 entry, and they guess, what does it mean? So, how should we react to this? Is it good or is it kind of freaky? Who’s that guy? Is he credible? Let’s see, who he is. He is from where? Russia? The guy from Russia has an opinion on what’s going on here in Spain – sounds kinda strange, doesn’t it? What’s the matter?
Or it goes like: ‘Okaaaaay, guys. We’re in somebody’s annual poll now, and this is great by default!’ 
I’m just curious, really.
So, here you are. The best albums of the year. The most delicious part of the TOP50. The Big Ten.

Merry Christmas!

10. Atencion Tsunami «Vltra»
(p)Records del Mundo
The sounds of the alternative dance halls of the 22nd century. The danceable rock music with no dance invented for it as of now.

9. Exfan «Exfan»
(p)Gatuela
All of Patricia Escoin's ongoing projects (Los Amantes, Lula and Exfan) deserve nationwide praise, I swear.

8. Furious Monkey House «Love, Scum & Dust»
(p)Esmerarte/ Atresmusica/ Universal Music Spain
Somewhere in the middle of the first track of "Love, Scum & Dust" I was like: 'Holy fuck, how come I have never heard of them before? They’re so cool!'

7. Yo, Estratosferico «Limbo»
(p)self-released
The struggling band that deserves more attention than it's got now. The creators of the last decade's most underrated great song ("?motin?") have got another bunch of great songs to be proud of.

6. Capsula «Bestiarium»
(p)Gaztelupeko Hotsak/ Vicious Circle/ Dynamo Tapes
Their strongest release since "Solar Secrets", as simple as it gets.

5. Sunday German Flowers «2019»
(p)Discos Delejos
Put your headphones on and float away from your daily grind with this beautiful and stylistically undefinable record.

4. Chavalan «Un Aire Visible»
(p)Mascarpone Discos
The great successor of now-defunct Betunizer. From my point of view it's even better than "Gran Veta', the generally recognized apex of Betunizer’s career.

3. Los Punsetes «Aniquilacion»
(p)Mushroom Pillow
Without a doubt the most cohesive album of the renowned band. It seemed to me like something was always missing on their previous releases. They were always quite good with the emphasis on ‘quite’. Now all the parts of the puzzle are on their right places finally.

2. Holywater «Arboreal»
(p)Ernie
Take any cool southern rock-meets-grunge record (Dead Confederate's "Sugar" first came to my mind), replace the electric guitars with the acoustic ones and then clean the sound off to kill that druggy fog - and you'll get the idea of what "Arboreal" sounds like.

1. Yawners «Just Calm Down»
(p)La Castanya
For the most part of the year it was all pretty clear about the number one. Not only the best album but also the best song ("La Escalera").







среда, 5 декабря 2018 г.

Best Of 2018. EPs & mini albums





















20. En Septiembre "Adelante" (p)self-released BNDCMP
19. Rio Agra "Rio Agra" (p)Discos FUP/ Caballito BNDCMP
18. Jorra I Gomorra "A Manacor" (p)Bubota Discos BNDCMP
17. El Relevo Aleman "Pterodactilos" (p)self-released BNDCMP
16. Dreyma "Moonlight" (p)Magnolia Damasco BNDCMP
15. Mento "La Caridad" (p)Arcadia SPTF
14. Repion "Donde Escapa La Luz" (p)Galerna Norte SPTF
13. Las Sexpeares "Somos Lo Peor" (p)Dromedario BNDCMP
12. Martes Niebla "Martes Niebla" (p)self-released BNDCMP
11. Banani "Yellow Sound" (p)Hidden Track SPTF
10. Los Marcianos "Nuevo Orden Cosmico" (p)Clifford BNDCMP
09. Cosmo K "Ultimo Disco" (p)Discos De Kirlian BNDCMP
08. DOM "Summertime"/ "Autumn Blues" (p)self-released BNDCMP
07. Bobito "El Verano De Las Cenizas" (p)Flor Y Nata BNDCMP
06. Los Turistas "Casi Tocamos El Cielo" (p)Clifford BNDCMP
05. Ljubliana & The Seawolf "Shit Dope" (p)Bankrobber BNDCMP
04. Lanave "Lanave" (p)El Hombre Bala BNDCMP
03. Chef Creador "Sucesos Extraños" (p)Clifford BNDCMP
01-02. Yo, Estratosferico "Aves Raras" (p)self-released BNDCMP
01-02. I Am Dive "Mauve" (p)WeAreWolves BNDCMP

Heterogeneous both in genres and geography, these short form releases nevertheless have something in common: every entry in this list makes you wish for more from the certain band. 
We're noting some interesting points such as three Clifford Records releases in the Top10, or three stylistically completely different releases from Canary Islands. Moreover, nearly half of the list consists of the names that are new to me. Chef Creador? Ljubliana? Los Turistas, Cosmo K, Martes Niebla, Repion, Rio Agra, En Septiembre? Never heard of them prior to this year. 
Along with the new ones, some familiar names in the fresh wrappers are in the list.
An EP by Bobito, a band spearheaded by Roberto Lopez from Clara Plath - something that Roberto was distracted with whilst his spouse/CP frontwoman was on the maternity leave with their first baby. An EP by Bruno Banani, the former componente of Fuckin' Bollocks and Dulce Pajara De Juventud...

I haven't chosen the one and only winner. "Aves Raras" accompany me from the very first days of the year, while "Mauve" is of the late harvest, but I should declare I can't prefer one over the other. The raw emotion along with the unpredictable melodic twists of the former over the masterfully nuanced sonic perfection of the latter... I could only regret that they haven't added a song or two to their efforts to get promoted into the main Top50 list where they probably would take the same positions as here.

среда, 12 сентября 2018 г.

Yo, Estratosferico "Aves Raras"

I am biased. I should declare it beforehand cos I know this time I can’t be objective. Frankly, there’s nothing to do with objectiveness in my reviews from the very first moment I started doing it. But this time I’m biased quite significantly even by my habitual measures because sometimes you run into the things that make you happy on a molecular level and you can’t stand it just letting it loose.
The 21st century spoiled the term ‘emo’ making it some kind of the death sentence, a black mark. People forgot it was first coined back in the 80’s, and initially it was an abbreviation for ‘emotionally charged hardcore’. All through the 90’s it had being used for the bands of the Sunny Day Real Estate and Braid streak (later these bands were framed into the ‘2nd wave emo’ subgenre to separate them from those like Rites Of Spring and Embrace with whom frankly they had little in common). And I don’t get it completely how it all jumped from The Appleseed Cast’s “Mare Vitalis” to sticking the 'emo' tag to My Chemical Romance shit albums in two year span.
The Guadalajara-based combo started making records back in 2014. With one EP and two [too cool to go unnoticed] longplays in the backpack the guys set the most recent 6 track EP "Aves Raras" to be their most ambitious record. Initially a four piece, now Jose, Diego, Oscar and Manu recruited the longtime friend Alberto “Tito“ Sanz (formerly of Thomb - the local band with the 'family ties' to Yo, Estratosferico) as the second guitar player to build up the sound they wanted to recreate with due precision.
Structurally the songs on “Aves Raras” come close to post-hardcore as they’ve got these stop-start dynamics, unusual time signatures and the kind of riffing usually labeled ‘angular’. Tone-wise the EP relates – on par with all the previous works of the band – to the 2nd wave emo rock as the voice of Jose is charged with emotion galore. His trademark singing style makes him one of the most memorable voices of the scene. Finally, the EP befriends the jangly edgy guitar playing style of post-millennial indie rock. Summing it all up the EP produces the full-bodied brooding and cathartic impression. If there’s an allegory to describe the difference between “Aves Raras” and the previous albums I’d like to suggest this one: imagine the band that usually played in the extremely small room stepping out into the greater hall. They might play the same music but it would sound quite different as there’s more space and air in there.
The EP contains two tracks the closest Yo, Estratosferico ever get to a hit: “Oporto” (a city or a metro station?) and “Todo Madrid Habla Mal De Ti”. But my by far favourite track is “Palido Y Salvaje” – the most unconventional and uncompromising track on the album. The most post-hardcore track. The most 2nd wave emo track. I’d like to live in the world where “Palido Y Salvaje” could be a massive hit.

воскресенье, 26 августа 2018 г.

5 años. Top5 Most Underrated Albums

The year 2018 marks the 5-year jubilee of this tiny music-related blog. So I'm going to make a string of kinda 'special issues' to celebrate this. The third of them is right here right now, and this time it's dedicated to the albums that appeared in my annual top lists - but on some painfully low positions.

5. Dulce Pajara de JuventudTriumph” (p)2014 BCore Disc
Appeared in: 31-33 appendix to the main Top30
Now: if the most recent albums of Smashing Pumpkins were sounding like this one I would still love them like hell.
BNDCMP
4. ElenaConcepte Vitrina” (p) 2015 Warner
Appeared in: ‘Honorable Mention’ appendix to Top50 list
Now: the perfectly crafted album of melodic guitar-driven pop that surely deserves more recognition than it ever had.
BNDCMP
3. Ruin Man BandParaiso” (p)2014 Ruin Records
Now: I return to this strangely attractive mix of acid jazz, primordial blues and proto trip hop more frequently than I could’ve imagined.
2. Yo, EstratosfericoPotencialmente Infinitos” (p)2016
Appeared in: #30 of Top50 list
Now: through the last couple of years this album and this band grew on to be more than just an album and a band for me.
1. Hazte LaponNo Son Tu Marido” (p)2015 El Genio Equivocado
Now: as simple as it goes, the hidden gem of a nation, one of the best albums ever released in Spain.

суббота, 9 сентября 2017 г.

#Sonorama20. Interlude. The 5 Years Rankings

As this was our fifth Sonorama (some kind of a jubilee) I'd like to select some best events we witnessed for these years.

Top10 performances on secondary stages (including Plaza del Trigo that should in no way be considered secondary):
10. Love Of Lesbian – 2016, Plaza del Trigo (concierto secreto)
09. The Handicaps – 2013, Red Bull
08. Sin Rumbo – 2013, Carson Camping
07. Igloo – 2013, Plaza del Trigo
06. Yo, Estratosferico – 2017, La Carpa Meetin Arts
05. La Habitacion Roja – 2015, Plaza del Trigo (concierto secreto)
04. Disciplina Atlantico – 2016, Burgos
03. Ninos Mutantes – 2014, Plaza del Trigo (concierto secreto)
02. Havoc – 2015, Burgos
01. Maryland – 2014, Plaza del Trigo. The best ever concert I witnessed in my whole fucking life.

Top5 discoveries:
05. Proyecto Solaz
04. The Bright
03. Bestlife (Under Your Seat)
02. Correos
01. Joe La Reina
Accidentally, all of them are of the year 2014. I hope this year's discoveries (Yoyo Banana, Tierra Vertical and Molina Molina) will enter the next rankings successfully passing the test of time.

Top5 of our fails:
05. 1st night of Sonorama 2013 when we tried to enter recinto ferial with our Canon D450 in the bag and they didn't let us go.
04. Our unawareness of conciertos secretos (2013) as there were nobody to tell us about.
03. Wrong place for Rufus T. Firefly (Plaza del Trigo, 2015) in the epicentre of watergun wars.
02. Never being present on all the accompanying events (breakfasts, visits to bodegas, tastings, etc.)
01. Totally missed concierto secreto that followed the aforementioned Rufus' performance - that one with Zahara, Xoel Lopez, Sidonie, Angel Stanich and others.

воскресенье, 27 августа 2017 г.

#Sonorama20. The Report. Part Two

When we left Pin&Pon djs’ session at 02:30 we felt almost dead. But after we came to our beloved Kinedomus (surely the best place to enjoy Sonorama) and had a good sleep in the dead silence we felt our batteries fully recharged. So at 12:00 sharp we stood on the Plaza de Sal waiting for the new grace to fall upon us.

10/08/17. The Morning. Main location: Plaza de Sal
Gimnastica were the perfect band to start the morning right. Their songs were melodic, and the band was brimming with positive energy.
Apartamentos Acapulco are widely considered the new hopes of Spanish shoegaze. They even come close to the “new Los Planetas” tag. In the middle of their performance it was slightly spoiled by the problems with the gear but these problems were not so crucial as those for Dorian last night, so the band continued without slowing down. As many other shoegaze bands, live Apartamentos Acapulco sounded louder than on albums. For me they seemed closer to Modelo de Respuesta Polar than to Los Planetas (it’s neither good nor bad as I adore them both).
Then Alberto Y Garcia stepped onto. They were good but this was not our kind of music, so after 4-5 songs we started roaming around the old town. As the most people gathered in Plaza del Trigo, the tiny streets around were empty almost completely, and when we stepped onto another callejon we saw a bunch of people with some luggage. Initially shocked, we recognized the musicians of Leon Benavente in these people. I couldn’t help but rushed to them with my classic ‘sorry men we’re your fans from Russia, we’ve got all your releases physically, could we please make a photo with you!’ They seemed having fun of this situation, and they told us they would be this day’s concierto secreto. We expressed our doubts of being able to attend this as there were so many people on Plaza, and wished them the good journey, as we knew that this day they should fly to Tenerife to take part in Phe Festival.
After this unexpected but extremely pleasant encounter we returned to Plaza de Sal to see Willis Drummond. Willis Drummond are from the French part of Basque Country but they’re not considered foreign band as they are singing in basque and are managed by Panplona-based booking agency Black Izar having many concerts all across Spain. The band played the highly energetic show which I summed up with the words: "The best post-hardcore possible". Now I can only repeat that.
Fortunately, we managed to find ourselves a place on the overcrowded Plaza del Trigo to see Leon Benavente. They proved one more time that they are probably the best live act of Spain #rightnow. They’ve got the magic.

10/08/17. The Night. Location: Recinto ferial
Another band to have the same kind of magic (though staying on the lower level of publicity) is Yo, Estratosferico. The Guadalajara-based quartet mixes guitar-driven indie rock with post-hardcore angularity and 2nd wave emo dramatic tension to the perfect results. Additionally, these four musicians are the great performers. And the fact that rare person knows about it causes me real physical pain. ‘We’re just trying to get better with every show’ – Jose told us when we met him the next day. But even if Yo, Estratosferico are not intended to gather thousands, they deserve much more spectators than they got now cos they are not another faceless band.
Ivan Ferreiro presented his most recent release “Casa” ((p)2017 Warner). As for me, his two latest albums (“Val Minor – Madrid” and the aforementioned “Casa”) contain good songs but no hits comparable to “Turnedo” or “NYC” (with possible exception of "Pajaro Azul"). So the show was somehow the reflection of it. It was 100% alive and kicking - but I'm still dreaming about Ivan's concert that would include the rocking numbers like “Cancion Humeda” or “Paraisos Perdidos”.
After having some wine in VIP zone listening to Coque Malla who was performing on Aranda stage we decided to skip the Sidonie’s show (as the considerable crowd seemingly hard to enter already gathered there before the main stage) in favor of having ourselves more wine and listening to it from afar. Then we trod our path to the Burgos stage. At the moment when we came Flamingo Tours were finalizing their set. On the first line right at the security bars we met Rodrigo Valiente from The Trunks. I warned him that I’m going to shout all the Radiohead tracks out as loud as I can, and as I got no musical voice it might cause him pain in the ears. He told me it’s OK – but in the middle of the set he disappeared without saying anything, so I still have the fear I annoyed him to the core with my crooked screams.
Paranoid Android was some kind of coverband supergroup consisting of the members of Igloo, Eladio y Los Seres Queridos and Rufus T. Firefly and playing the songs of “OK Computer” (in fact their program included numbers from “Pablo Honey” and “Kid A” as well). All these people gathered onstage could make it too chaotic to perform so the show was divided onto some sections led by different bands. It started with Igloo, then Eladio Santos and his band stepped into with their two-song sequence. After that Victor and Julia from Rufus appeared onstage to play some songs including “Idiotheque” from “Kid A”. The show was finalized with Igloo covering “Let Down” and “Creep”. All three bands did the best they could creating one of the most interesting events of the fest.
The next point of interest in our schedule was the performance of Niños Mutantes but when we escaped the Burgos stage we saw the largest crowd we had ever witnessed before the second-rank stage, so it was apparent we had no chance to see Niños Mutantes from any proper place. Disappointed we went to VIP zone to have ourselves some beer or calimocho (and we had it, yeah!) and to wait for the moment when we could go for gaining two good places before Xoel Lopez in fair competition with other festivaleros. Right after Niños Mutantes went offstage, and the whole crowd started migrating to Ribera, we came to the far left of Aranda stage and settled down there in couple of meters from the security bar. Not ideal but quite appropriate.
As we were intended to wait here more than 45 minutes, I escaped the location to see what was happening at Burgos stage where Capsula were paying their homage to the late David Bowie. Capsula is another band whose live performances you shouldn’t miss. I stayed there for 15 minutes, and these 15 minutes were fantastic.
Earlier it was declared that Xoel Lopez would play the set of songs based on his Deluxe past. In fact it was 50/50 Deluxe and Xoel. Everybody would expect him to perform "Que No" and "Historia Universal" - what he surely did. Other ones - like "Cielo de Madrid" and especially "See You in London" were the relative surprises. Xoel performed being backed by the full band that included trumpets, sax and percussion. Closer to the end of the set he stopped singing and revealed that 20th anniversary coincided with his own 40th birthday now. While he was talking Javier Ajenjo entered the stage and made his heartfelt congratulations to the old friend.