MELIMELUM

In the 1970s, duos like PASTORAL and PABLO Y PEDRO give the impression that mildly psychedelic and care free folk music were as widespread in Argentina as everywhere else during that period. But Romance languages are particularly well suited to the genre and seem to possess an unfair advantage. With the sadly short-lived MELIMELUM, the ingredients attained an optimal blend more often than not - dual acoustic guitars, mellifluously jazzy lead guitar, syncopated bass, and harmonious plaintive vocals.

The best examples of MELIMELUM's sensuous concoctions are in "Matinal Surgimagico", the upbeat "Terrores Primales", which also incorporates sprightly flutes and playful percussion into its sunny 1960s pop sensibility, and especially the brilliant "En El Otono", with a chanted chorus that will have you pulling your tongue off the floor. "Sol Amarillo" provides a fitting nightcap. Even the weakest material smacks of rather more of the same rather than anything remotely inept.

While it's decidedly mild mannered, this recording, like all such works from this period and place, cannot help but sound subtly subversive given the political climate, and MELIMELUM covers another base if your quest is an eclectic mix of "world" prog.