SINTESIS

A group of musicians with varying degrees of experience who met and formed a band through associations at the University in Rosario, Sintesis came from pre-military regime Argentina, a promising band of adventurous, even visionary creatives, whose progress and development was brought to a sudden end by the 1976 military overthrow of the Péron regime in Argentina and the successive "Dirty War" in which thousands of Argentines were killed, disappeared, and/or subjected to torture during a period of military oppression and authoritarian rule. The military junta engaged in a campaign of violence and repression against suspected political opponents, including left-wing activists, students, intellectuals, and even artists. Though the band members of Sintesis were able to avoid violence by fleeing to other places on the globe, some may recognize the name of violinist Sergio Polizzi for his contribution to BUBU's 1978 release, Anabelas.

1. "Lo Obvio Según Yo" (3:50) obtuse and angular music of high degree of difficulty, especially in terms of shifting, changing time signatures and suddenly-changing stylistic modalities. Though this still feels like some rudimentary whole-band practice exercise, the skill levels on display--especially in the first motif, are quite remarkable (even in the bluesy second motif, the longest, but more in the final one). (8.75/10) 2. "Sin Nada" (5:26) this one adds violin and flute to the mix, resulting in something much more jazz-classical in sound and nature--like something from Québecois band CONVENTUM, American band HAPPY THE MAN, Japanese proggers KENSO and MR. SIRIUS, or even some of AFTER CRYING's 1990s material. Again, the band has chosen to merge three different motifs into this one "song"--most of which really puts on display Sergio Polizzi's violin prowess, though flutist Oscar Tissera's talents are also to be noted. Guitarist José Migoya has the last turn in the spotlight but doesn't quite wow me as much as the previous two. (8.875/10)

3. "La Necesidad De Amar...A Veces" (3:42) a great song to display the talents of (and dispel my previous low estimation of) drummer Julio Cusmai and bass player Juan Ricci. Here the saxophonists (Chachi and Mariano Zarich) do a remarkable interweave of their two dynamic and soloing instruments: definitely the song's highlight and one of the more impressive displays on the album. (9.125/10)

4. "Algunas Maneras De Expresarme" (3:27) a guitar-centric song on which José Migoya gets the chance to "show off." Nice drum work in support by Julio Cusmai but my favorite parts are the interplay (and feeding off one another) of bass player Juan Ricci with José. (8.875/10)

5. "Todo Lo Necesario Para Lo Necesario" (2:21) a cool little centerless avant garde tune with bass, two saxes and clarinet opening the song before drums and, later, guitar join in. Several time shifts lead to different feeling motifs, all of which are pretty fascinating for the three-part weave being enacted over the top. (4.75/5)

6. "El Final" (8:02) in interesting start evolves into a song motif that sounds as if it came from a 1960s Beatnick-turned- Rock 'n' Roll band. The solos from sax, flute, and guitar are good--they almost succeed in distracting the listener from the very rudimentary rhythm tracks, but in the end it's just a two-chord vamp existing solely for as a vehicle for the veterans to show off their At 4:10 there is a little bridge that tries to get the listener's blood going which serves to make a break for the electric guitar to take a turn with a distorted fuzz sound. At 5:20 there is a stoppage to all rhythm instruments to allow for a two-flute and bass trio. At 6:05 drums and sax rejoin, making for a nice weave with the flutes and bass before falling into a 1960s game show theme song and then an uncalled-for (and, frankly, undeserved/unearned) drum solo to bridge us into yet another 1960s game show theme song. (13.125/15)

Total time: 27:13

7. "Reminiscencias" (bonus track on 2016 CD release) (5:30) a smoother, more groove-oriented and different, more synthesized and modern sound palette than the band's other pieces (which might explain how and why this song was not among the songs on the original release: it's more of a Smooth Jazz vamp over which guitarist José Migoya was able to play around on his new guitar synthesizer. Sounds more like something from the experimental period of Allan Holdsworth's SynthAxe period in the 1980s. (8.875/10)

An album of boundary-pushing creativity by a band of highly skilled, highly-disciplined musicians who had a musical vision that ranks among the greatest creatives in the world. The bass and drums are well-skilled, they are definitely not in the same league as the lead instruments. One of my problems with this collection of songs is how each and every song sounds as if performed and recorded by a totally new ensemble: some have violin, most don't; some have sax, some don't; some have guitar, some don't; none have keyboards(!); some songs feel free and loose, some feel restricted and like someone pushed "record" during a practice session. Most of the songs feel disconnected from one another

I do have to comment on the fact that other music reviewers before me have praised this album to what I think are rather excessive ends; I do not think that the products on this album stand up next to any level of top tier albums or songs from the lauded and honored Masters of J-R F, Avant/RIO, or prog, and nor do I think that any of the six songs on this 27-minute long EP (32:43 if you count the seventh song, "Reminiscencias" that was tacked on to the end for the 2016 CD re-release from BlueArt Records) represent polished or "finished," much less fully-developed, songs: they all could use a ton more work before they rise out of the "demo" level into public release level renderings. Yes, these are talented, spirited and ambitious men--especially the two seasoned veterans (flute player Oscar Tissera and sax player Mariano Zarich), but think about it: if music was really in the blood of these men, don't you think we would have heard more from more of them in the years after stability and artistic and intellectual freedoms were restored to their native country?

B-/3.5 stars; an intriguing albeit brief album of unfinished, unpolished songs that leave the listener wondering, "What if?" Rated up for pure, unrealized potential but then demerited for brevity--and for the temerity of trying to sneak in a "late addition" "wringer" in order to pad its legitimacy. If the music were as good as others would have us believe, I'd be more forgiving.

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