FRAGMENTS OF LIGHT

At its best, Kotebel is like an updated version of some of Spain's classic 1970s bands like Cai and Triana, with a bit of flute and high pitched female vocals thrown in. The spirited of those slightly jazzy flamenco groups oozes from the grooves of "Hades", "El Quimerista I", and the latter part of "Fire". But at times they seem far from their roots, and the keyboard domination of most tracks, such as "Legal Identity" and "El Quimerista I" is far less appealing, while the narrative of "Memory" mars an otherwise promising tune. My version of the CD has an "Addendum" called "Children", which is a suite of inoffensive but hardly astonishing piano solos. In all, a difficult album to get into by a talented outfit. 2.5 stars, rounded down.