MASCARAS URBANAS

The first time I heard this I was a little surprised at how much this Argentinian band sounded like Gabriel-era GENESIS. The singer is almost accent free and some of the songs he even sings in Spanish. I was ready to dismiss them as just another GENESIS clone, but after many listens I can hear that these guys have given very close attention to detail, and even more importantly to me is that this music moves me just like the Gabriel-era GENESIS moves me.

"Mascaras Urbanas" the title track opens with keyboards and a beat as vocals join in quickly. The keys are very Banks-like and the guitar sounds so good before 3 minutes. Great start. "Vientos Del Este" opens with atmosphere before these Gabriel-like vocals join in with a beat. The guitar follows. A calm before 2 1/2 minutes with spoken words before it kicks back in a minute later. "La Tierra Del Pecado" gets fuller before a minute. Once again this is GENESIS 101 and it sounds so good. I like the melancholic synths before 3 minutes.

"Sombras En Lxtlan" opens with someone knocking on a door then that door creeking open. Reserved vocals and a mellow sound take over. "Peregrinos Del Tiempo" puts the focus on the Spanish vocals. Just a beautiful ballad-like track. "Icarus" opens with guitar and a beat as the vocals join in. Mellotron before 2 minutes and what sounds like aboe before 4 minutes. "Mono" features acoustic guitar and vocals early. The vocals do get theatrical before 3 1/2 minutes. It gets pretty uplifting before 7 minutes to the end. "Escapando De Mi Imaginacion" is a cool song with drums, atmosphere and vocals.

For me an easy 4 stars. A pleasure to listen to.