Atalaya Roja "Quemad Las Naves!"

Atalaya Roja "Quemad Las Naves!" (p)2020 self-released

If I finally managed to start a band to play the songs I had been writing for my entire life, for good or bad that band supposedly would play something like this: the guitar-driven lyrics-centered rock music that sounded pretty 90's. And if I only worked up the courage to enter a studio to record an album the result most likely would be like this: a pack of songs (half in my native language, half in English) that bear some DIY aesthetics avoiding excessive studio trickery, sound experiments or flirtations with today's fashion trends. Neither pretty clean nor quite hook-heavy - but it would be very 'right in your face'. Love it or leave it - the former is ok but the latter's not gonna kill me. Would it be gorgeous, or ideal, or perfect? I suppose, no. Besides, it wouldn't be targeted at gaining much attention. It would rather be about trying to find like-minded persons to connect to. Just like "Quemad Las Naves!" probably - at least from my point of view - is.

P.S. As revealed once in an interview, the name of the band is traced back to one of best places in the world for me personally: El Medano's Montana Roja, TF. You know, when driving down by TF-64 from Granadilla de Abona it fucking makes me shiver every time I see that piece of coastal area that lies directly below - always lit by the sun and stroked with the seashore ripples...

FCBK
BNDCMP

Palo Alto "Self Defense"

Palo Alto "Self Defense" (p)2020 self-released

Hey, what a hidden gem they are! Unclassifiable Sevilla-based quartet crerates a strange amalgam of Hood, Blonde Redhead, Kodaline and "m b v"-era My Bloody Valentine. Though the abovementioned referential names could hardly be considered a breakthrough in contemporary indie music, the introspective southerners - under surveillance of Tero Heikkinen (Kindata) - have managed to create something fascinating. These are the new fresh sounds of intellectual pop music with plenty of hooks and the aftertaste of innovation.

FCBK

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Breis "On"

Breis "On" (p)2020 Sweet Song/ Producciones Acaraperro

“M”, the previous release of Breis, apparently was Manolo’s attempt to create a ‘magnum opus’ of sorts, a career-defining record meant to demonstrate all of his skills at their fullest. I don’t think it turned out a success, honestly. While listening to that record I almost physically felt like one of my favourite Spanish singers/songwriters just tried too hard drowning himself into piles of details and overtones. There are some good news: fortunately, “On” is completely free of this flaw. It sounds like Manolo Breis returns to what he does best: the sincere and soulful roots-rock songs with touches of ‘classic’ rock-n-roll. It's way more streamlined. There's nothing extra here, at least nothing more than you need to. It showcases all the best strengths of its auteur with no palpable stress or tension, acting as a successor rather to 2013's "Invisibles" than to more recent "14 Pla De Palau" or "M". 

FCBK

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Capitan Sunrise "Dramas Del Primer Mundo"

Capitan Sunrise "Dramas Del Primer Mundo" (p)2019 Jabalina Musica

What amazes me the most in this album is the sound of guitars. The guitars here are tiny. They are minimal. Some of them sound like these are the pre-recorded tracks initially intended to be deleted after all the rest was recorded and finalized, and finally made it into the album only by mere coincidence. But it’s not a coincidence. This is how indie pop goes. It might have got guitars, it might haven’t, and it might have got the guitars like these, heh. This genre is kind of democratic. So it’s not fair to emphasize something that isn’t pretty important. Let’s emphasize another thing: it’s a talkative, verbal, long-winded album with good sense of humour and top-tier melodies. So these songs might have been played with forks, spoons and fishing lines with a sleepy voice mumbled over – and it wouldn’t damage them at all. 

FCBK

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Bay City Killers "Delivery Of Goods"

Bay City Killers "Delivery Of Goods" (p)2020 The Braves Records

They’re from Mallorca, but they might’ve arisen from any part of flyover country in America. Their music resides in the vast territory that unites the four decades of alternative rock. This album was recorded with Eric Fuentes as a producer, and then mixed and mastered at Ultramarinos Costa Brava studios by the brothers Victor & Santi Garcia (even if you haven't delved much into Catalan rock music you outta know that these credits are kind of unmistakable quality mark). At times their sound gets pretty close to that of Buckcherry (I’d also mention The Gaslight Anthem and The Hold Steady as the reference points) – but if the Buckcherry are more of a party then Bay City Killers are more of a statement. It’s not a fiesta, it’s a troubled man in a troubled world. The frontman Jose Serrano sings like he really cares. Like he FUCKING cares. Like he lives out every line of the lyrics, and it really should move the listener. These are the kinds of songs we all really need now as the times we live in are strange.

FCBK

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Havoc "Espiritu"

Havoc "Espiritu" (p)2020 Subterfuge

When the world has turned its face to trap, raggaeton and loose post-everything experimentation it became visibly harder to sustain the noticeable career in guitar-driven rock music. Thus, a swarm of indie rock bands started to abandon guitar-oriented sound in favor of digitalized cross-pop genre-bending – whether in pursue of zeitgeist or out of the fear of being swept away by the relentless march of time. “Espiritu” is the physical (yet not released physically until now) evidence of one simple postulate: you don't have to change your way if you know well where you're going to. It's got the perfect production (Yon Vidaur, the guitar of the band, was also at the helm), the album sounds impeccably clean but never over-polished. It's got great songs. When a song needs some harsh guitars – it’s got them. It sounds so fresh that you don’t have to link it with the previous decades to find its roots in the past. This is the newborn child of this particular moment.
I have never listened (I don't know why, really) to english-speaking releases by PLV Havoc, the previous avatar of Pedro Gracia Perez de Vinaspre. But speaking of his shorter named vehicle, the gradual ascent is apparent: every consecutive album is better than its predecessor - and man, we are talking of progression that started with the fabulous "Lo Saben Los Narvales"!

FB
SPTF
SUBTERFUGE

#WhatsWrongWithIt. The Best of 2019, the appendix

That's why these albums didn't make it into my 2019's Top50 list.

Viva Suecia "El Milagro"
(p)Subterfuge Records
SPTF
In terms of songwriting “El Milagro” is a perfect album. Apparently there is no filler, every song is a stunner - and that’s coincidentally the main problem with it: it’s TOO perfect. It is so good you can enclose it into a capsule and send it through the space as a proof of human intelligence and fondness for beauty. But whether it was said once by Lao Tzu or by Noel Gallagher, the true perfection has to be imperfect. There should be a twist, there should be a sharp angle, there should be an accidental curveball to make a record artistically viable. But it’s so polished instead… So many people like it. All my friends like it. I’m not that guy who’s always opposed to the majority but, you know, reviews are always subjective as the reviewers are subjective. Look, I just can see the progress: the self-titled EP and “La Fuerza Mayor” were the sparks to start a fire, “Otros Principios Fundamentales” was about broadening the vocabulary, and “El Milagro” is the full-fledged demonstration of the abilities. From my point of view, only the first one was completely successful.

Leon Benavente "Vamos A Volvernos Locos"
(p)Warner Music Spain
SPTF

Another commonplace belief: the bands should evolve – and that’s true. There’s no point in constant reproduction of what you’ve already done greatly. “Vamos A Volvernos Locos” is the result of evolution. The first two Leon Benavente’s longplays worked perfectly on the unity of such opposites as the band’s melodic side (“Estado Provisional”, “La Ribera”) and their penchant for the cold-hearted electro-punk slashers (“La Palabra”, “Gloria”). Trying to find the ways of avoiding the artistic stagnation the renowned four-piece decided to abandon their hard-hitting side completely and this [considered logical by many] step has destroyed that push-and-pull effects that moved the band ahead so greatly. As a result we’ve got a beautiful and 100% accessible album that sounds kind of mono-dimensional as compared to their previous works. I only speak of music - the lyrics are still top-tier quality.

Noise Box "Here's That Bliss You Left Behind"
(p)Son Buenos
SPTF

One more album I would like to mention here is Noise Box’s “Here’s That Bliss You Left Behind”. Definitely this is a great album whose only flaw is its attempt to cover the territory too vast to be covered by the single piece of art. “Every Picture Of You Is When You Were Younger” was that good because the band didn’t try to embrace too many shoulders at once. Cohesion was its considerable advantage. The new one sounds like the neighbours of the aforementioned Viva Suecia try to pack 3 albums load of ideas into a single album. Every given song is a masterpiece but being glued together they produce rather overwhelming effect. They’re too much. They feel cramped within ‘one LP, ten songs, 5 minutes per song’ context. The last time I felt so was when I listened to “IX” by …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead so it’s no surprise that the band mentions the Texans as one of their major influences. I suppose it could be better if Jesus Cobarro & Co added a spoonful of Failure into the mix – given they took (intentionally or not) the LA-based space/grunge rockers’ method of releasing a string of separate EPs before combining them (and their names) into the whole album.