AMETSAREN BIDEA

While the Basque is a wonderful sounding language in music, and the folksy stylings of Basque prog are refreshing, my experience has been a frustrating one. Apart from the first couple of works of ITOIZ and the sole offering by MAGDALENA, it rarely delivers a wholly satisfying product to my ears. Unfortunately, this most esteemed release by ERROBI does not buck the trend, even if it has much to recommend it.

My big issue is with the longest cut, a meandering mix of various progressive styles without establishing anything remotely resembling an identity. Worse yet, the group abandons its roots in favour of the plod rock of FLOYD or whomever. Luckily, the other epic "Andere" is excellent apart from the drudgery of a percussion solo, but luckily even that is a follow on from the intriguing opening cut which hints at a tribal afro-celtic culture. The vocal arrangements and saxes both possess an urgency utterly lacking in the title track. The closing piece is the closest to conventional folk, with a sound somewhere between JACKSON BROWNE and MOVING HEARTS, and sounding a lot like ITOIZ. Nothing special, but not a throwaway either.

Occupying a middle ground in quality among Basque releases, ERROBI might be of more interest to people at PA simply because of their willingness to stretch out and eschew the pop idiom, even if such forays achieve mixed results.