INDÍGENA

For their sophomore effort "Indígena", Mar Robles achived the ultimate confirmation of their ballsy, multi-textured and dynamic prog- fsuion style. Enhancing their robust side (particularly, the use of hard-rocking guitar riffs and Crimsonian cadences) and augmenting their input with the inclusion of Chpaman Stick, their music now has aquired a more hardened presence without losing an inch of the refreshing vibe that they portrayed oh so well in their excellent debut "MdR" some years ago. the fire never stops, it is always lit up, shining in ever-explosive colors, at times getting more subtle, but always in flames. It is amazing how the energy is consistently incandescent, yet the five performers create such a well-ensembled unit that the explosion is always under control: proof of Mar de Robles' talent as an outstanding prog act of our times. 'Chúcaro' opens up the album in categoric fashion, a perfect example of combination of fusion and psychedelia, a sort of hybrid between Ergo Sum and Gordian Knot. The track's aggressive vibe gets enriched with successive elements of jazz-fusion and funk rock that go on with the track's development until the initial theme's reprise. Eight minutes of pure musical excitement. 'X_2004' allows the band to continue delivering their energetic mixture of various moods and motifs, this time with a lesser degree of complexity. 'Perimontu' kind of follows a similar scheme, ony with a more mteiculous and challenging management of contrasts between the various moods, hence generating an incredible sense of tension and adventure. The dialogues betwee nflute and guitar add up to the track's overall sophistication. If 'Chúcaro' had been the perfect entrance, this number serves as a perfect assurance of the album's general statement. 'Rancagua Nocturno' bears an ostensibly agile vibe, heading fluidly toward the more avantgarde side of the band, with that heavy-rocking tribal interlude that intrudes the candid colorfulness of the first motif. The ethereal textures that flood across the final motif are simply awesome, becoming incresaingly dreamy as the fade-out approaches. A real highlight, together with tracks 1 & 3, also, a genuine paradigm of MDR's sound. After these 26 minutes, the band is far from exhausted, as the delirant frenzy of 'Aborigen' shows, all over its sick funny vibe - this piece includes an inserted tribal section, dynamically interrupting its flow as a breath from a parallel universe. 'Sobreviviente' gets started with some Stick's spacey chord progressions, very much a-la "Disciplne"-era Levin. This is, all in all, an interlude to yet another exhibition of powerful fire by the whole ensemble. 'Chileneos' is set on a 6/8 tempo with a lilting mood, a thing that the band takes advantge of to explore their occasional eerie side; that is until the frenzy side emerges at its most Crimsonian. Not unlike track 4, the one that bears the same title as the band's name incarnates an example of the band's versatile ideology: hard psychedelic rock, jazz-fusion, Crimsonian ornaments, all of them fused in a compact progressive unit. Finally, 'Ubuntu' closes dwon the album with a major emphasis on teluric cadences and rhythms, which helps the rhytm section to assume a more prominent role than usual, especialy during the climatic passages. In conclusion, "Indígena" reveals itself as a masterful work that invigorates both MDR's CV and South America's prog scene in a crucial manner - the dramatically abrupt ending of the closer 'Ubuntu' proves tremendously effective for this Mar de Robles masterpiece.