TERRA INCÓGNITA

Congreso rapidly built some fame in Chile and kept producing singles as of 1972, while they even entered the studio to record a sophomore album in 1973.Their plans for a release though have to be cancelled due to the military action against president Salvador Allende in September 1973, even if most of the album was already finished.Remaing in the country despite the flaming atmosphere, Congress recruited flutist Renato Vivaldi as the sixth official member of the group and in 1975 their long-awaited album ''Terra Incognita'' sees a major release on London Records, even passing the Atlantic Ocean to reach the markets of Europe in Portugal.

''Terra Incognita'' is a strange album, even if it sounds considerably upgraded compared to the band's debut musically speaking.While there is a stronger addition of traditional Folk vibes in plenty of the tracks and the emotional singing lines remain a trademark of the group, some of the inspiration on the acoustic compositios seems to have faded.Even this way their Andean-influenced Prog Folk is still charming and enganging with romantic passages, intense lyrical moments and even some acoustic instrumental virtuosity, characterized by the impressive flute work of Vivaldi.On the other hand the upgraded instrumental seeds couldn't have resulted to some nice tasty fruits.Congreso have chosen to offer some prominent electric tunes in their new album with a more pronounced rhythm section and they even added some jazzy underlines in their music.As a result the music component of the album is more diverse.There is a good combination of modern instruments with the traditional ones, like charango, pipes, flutes and cello to result an attactive Folk Rock with alternatic acoustic and electric parts, especially during the flipside of the original LP, while the instrumental themes are often very intricate.Still the vocals hold a main role with clean and expressive performances by Francisco Sazo.

A bit of an uneven album, which, even so, holds a great interest till' its very end.Romantic Latin-American Prog Folk with captivating acoustic crescendos, light electric textures and sensational vocals.Recommended.