ROMANCE CON LA IRA

So far, this is the most plethoric manifestation of La Perra's artistic views: "Romance Con La Ira", the duo's third effort, solidly continues growing and reinstating the sort of sonic maturation that Elena Sánchez and Perico were aiming to from step 1. This particular album includes some of the roughest sonorities the band has ever produced, but its main forte lies in the way that the band has enhanced and nourished its solid eclecticism in its own avant-progressive terms: contemporary chamber, fusion, hard rock and jazz melt together and/or alternate within a convincingly unitary framework. 'Los Peces' opens up the album as an intriguing, subtle prologue that ceremoniously delivers a starting point for the more in-your-face 'Viaje', a driving experimental piece that keeps a robust, polyrhythmic pace La Perra-style. Its variations are linked beautifully, in such a delicate fashion that seems to contradict the energy delivered, but mostly it is a perfect combination of muscle and architecture. 'Zapateando' is a more extroverted number, showing a jolly ambience throughout the shifts that take place in the jamming mood: things are consistently kept interesting in its 6 minute span. 'Surf' is yet another jolly piece, only much shorter: its agile sophistication mostly serves as a prelude to 'Pino (Canción De la Navidad)', which mixes the preceding joy with other diverse passages that either focus on tension or on mystery. 'Kalanchoa' is a mysterious exercise on percussion and bass that seems designed to summon ancient ghosts and kindred spirits: this is something properly connected to the next track, 'Copal (Música Para Velar Danzando)', whose alternation of nebulous density and celebratory moods makes it truly magical and exciting. This band is really great at creating enormously colorful music with such a constrained instrumentation. 'Placer Por El Suicidio' is one of the longest compositions ever written by La Perra - it starts with a drum solo, then it builds a jazzy-oriented main body from there, and when the psychedelic and math-rock elements settle in, the stage is set for a splendorous climax midway. Elena's bass deliveries are just awesome beyond words, while Perico's drumming roots a solid basis. A few second before the 5 minute mark, the power decreases a bit, so a series of jazzy ethereal cadences become dominant, occasionally interrupted by math-rock eruptions. '1, 2, 3 Sirenas' is heavily based on kalimba notes sounding like dew drops (played by Elena, actually), while her partner displays eerie tonalities on exotic percussions. The namesake track is a short excursion on tribal-oriented psychedelia: it is effective and catchy, but basically its main function is to introduce the listener to the album's closer, 'Los Pájaros', a stylish piece that recapitulates much of the band's nuclear essence all the way toward its ceremonious finale. My overall balance of this album is highly positive - I can only recommend "Romance Con La Ira" to all those fervent avant-prog lovers who are eagerly to learn about what is done in the polychromatic world of experimental rock in Latin American countries. In general, it is just highly recommended? period.