SAENA

With the prominent violin and the progressive jazz fusion style, this debut album by the Mexican band known as Saena actually reminds me a lot of Japanese bands like KBB, Ain Soph and even Kenso. (All fantastic bands, by the way.) Along with violin, there is plenty of piano, accordion, bass (Chapman Stick), excellent drumming, and guitars. I should also include the female accordion player's voice, as most of her vocals are wordless and used like another instrument in the band - very cool. She also sings sometimes (in Spanish), and has a very fine voice.

The accordion makes this a unique prog album, and it's nicely mixed into the music - not too overbearing as accordions can sometimes be. It doesn't really sound Mexican to me (do they use accordions in Mexico a lot?), but it does give a nice folk or ethnic feel to the music. I really like this cd - the musicianship is excellent, the songs are well written and original, and the production quality is top-notch. The album is about 68 minutes long, and includes eight songs that tell the story of a group of birds on a quest to reach their ultimate being, Saena.

Gran música - get it!