ANABELAS

This reviewer is not an expert where it concerns progressive rock from south america, but it's easy to tell that Bubu's only album is a gem; dense and challenging, prone to furious digression and its sudden resolution into symphonious, wistful harmony, likely to satisfy both bitter (King Crimson) and sweet (your positive symphonic rock band of choice) tastes.

Side A is the most chameleonic, cycling through jazz, rock, blues and orchestral modes with enthusiasm. The trinity of progressive non-standard rock instruments - saxophone, violin and flute, of course! - decorate "El Cortejo de un Dia Amarillo" and lift it out of a sea of like-minded improv suites onto a higher plateau. The music can be reminiscent of King Crimson and the symphonic side of the italpop movement, but the themes are Bubu's alone. This reviewer enjoyed the choral touches and found no fault with the sporadic vocal additions - zeuhl-like moments do crop up, although not in such abundance that a dedicated zeuhl fan would necessarily love the record.

On the flipside, we have slightly more gentle and pastoral music, although an undercurrent of intelligence threatens to topple it all and reintroduce the chaos of "El Cortejo..." - beauty of a more classical nature reigns here. "El Viaje del Anabelas" feels a lot like a lost Mike Oldfield piece fused with more romantic progressions... and made much louder, too. "Sueños de Maniquí" is more delicate, accompanied by chords and with chords sustained or left ethereal and unrooted. Moments along the length of the track can be compared to raw Frippertronics being accompanied by classical musicians, and the italian influences wrestle with Frank Zappa's legacy to determine the melodic direction of the song. Startling.

I notice that "Anabelas" is a relatively popular album to review, and that's no mistake. If my review can add to this gem's reputation then I'm happy to have helped in my own small way. Do listen to this, won't you?