CIZAÑA DE LOS AMORES

As of today, this is the latest album from Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. 24 hours from now, he will have 4 more. I've heard maybe one album of his per year, so basically 5-6 of them. I was surprised at how good this one was. Most of the vocals(in Spanish) are done by Omar's girlfriend Ximena Sarinana Rivera. I was never big on her vocals from the albums I've heard, but I have grown to like them here. Her voice really fits the music on this album.

A lot of this album almost sounds like The Mars Volta Lite. This is definately one of Omar's more consistent solo albums. "Soledad Y Silencio" is based around a great minimal piano part. Some spacey synth. Great singing. This song has a weird sounding guitar solo. "No Hay Mas Respuestas" really sounds like TMV. I could hear Cedrid doing Ximena's vocal parts here. "Victimas Del Cielo" begins with backwards effects. Has a great jazzy organ solo.

"Corazon" is the standout track here. This should have been a single/video if it is not. Very memorable. Some more of Ximena's great singing here. "De Piedra" sounds like the second half of "Corazon". Near the end the bassline of "Corazon" is played again. I think these two songs should have been one longer song. "Nada De Amor" is another mellower song like the first track. Some jazzy bass and piano. This song has a nice 'chorus' in the "play it high and low" part. "Carne De Perro" is a very funky song. Omar plays some good trippy guitar here.

One of the better ORL albums I have heard without a doubt. I somehow enjoy this more than the last two TMV albums. This is a very recent album so I can't go crazy with the stars. Good album. 3 stars.