HERMANDAD

Join the brotherhood . As some of you know, this is the first CDC album as a duo with brothers Sotelo since Ramsés Luna left the band some years ago, so it is like the start of a new era, like a new beginning of this emblematic Mexican band that I love so much. It is not a mystery that the sound has to be different, with true honesty I confess I do miss Luna's style with the winds in this band, though with time we will get used to this new face of CDC, which of course is good, because they are great musicians and now the formula to reinvent themselves from one album to another.

This new album entitled "Hermandad" has an additional beauty, the CD package is stunning, handcraft made with a beautiful wood color and with a puzzle-like design. Well, the album offers 7 songs and a total time of 55 minutes. It starts with "Danza de la lluvia" which happens to be the shortest track; it is like a chat between strings and percussion that together provoke something on the earth, mother nature has to listen to this and send us some gifts, like a rain, so we can receive it with open arms and give it a rendition. This type of music CDC offers has old roots, pre-Hispanic touches that let us travel to the past.

"Mano a mano" is a rollercoaster of emotions, with a vertiginous explosion after some seconds of its beginning, then it slows down and share a state of calm, that little by little is being invaded by a chaotic atmosphere. This is a curious track, because one can listen to a lot of sounds and remember all of them, and none of them as well, all of a sudden some whistles can be heard while a far applause appears under a bed of strings and some farther percussion. "Rock Mahal" has a tense beginning with a first introductory minute that has a special atmospheric sound with some grade of chaos; later it calms down and a folkish tune appear, reminding me of mid-east music. This track has so many changes, them all are good without a doubt, the problem I have here is that in moments I feel lost, and not identified with the music.

"Migrante" has an addictive rhythm that is easy to remember, it repeats itself during the whole track, so here is different from the past song, this one has its own essence that will make us identify it. A vast quantity of colors and textures are offered here, so many changes that don't harm each other, a prominent use of stick and great atmospheres help build up one of the best songs off this album. "Sonocosmonauta" plays again with a lot of nuances and textures that come from everywhere, a variety of sounds that try to create a structure which is about to take off, but I am not convinced if it took off or not, what I mean is that here once again I felt lost somewhere, not caught by its charm, like the feeling of "this lacks something", I don't know.

"Éxodo desierto adentro" could be used as soundtrack of a film related to art, I imagine this music sounding while a man is walking in the mid-east desert, going to meet its fate. The strings used here are great as usual, while the percussion greatly complements it. The Mexican roots continue during the whole album, and are provided once again in the last track "Dia de Feria" in which I imagine a cool culture festival of our ascendants, walking, chatting, having a moment of relaxation and thought, I don't know, trying to find the peace they deserve.

Well, if you have read my previous CDC reviews then you will notice something, that I always show love for them, but here I did not feel that enthusiastic. Most of the changes are for good, and I am sure CDC will find soon their new own sound, maybe they already have it as a duo, but I think they have to keep walking and moving on in order to reach that summit they once owned; the winds were something that made this band unique, now they don't have it and I am sure most of us fans miss them, but we have to understand this is a new era and get use to what they want to offer nowadays. My final grade will be 2.5 rounded to 3 stars, I miss those songs that can be recognized in the first 5 seconds, here I found only one.

Enjoy it!