EL INFIERNO DE LOS PAYSOS

I'm really loving this band.I like the variety of styles they offer up including Jazz, Zeuhl, Avant-gard and spacey sections. The female vocals though are really the icing on the cake. She can sing with the best of them, and she loves to perform. This isn't quite as good as their debut in my opinion but it's a very solid 4 star record.

"Lamentos" opens with bass and drums as she come in singing as only she can. Sax joins in as the tempo shifts. She's so good. Some dissonance before 2 minutes. She ends the song in style. "Convicciones" opens with almost spoken male and female vocals with percussion as dissonant sax and drums join in. I like it. Some funky bass follows. Vocals return after 5 minutes as the bass becomes more prominant. The third track is 18 seconds of bass, drums and sax. "Basura" features some great drums and sax. Vocals a minute in. It settles down as percussion and soft vocals lead the way. The sax returns with a fuller sound after 3 1/2 minutes. "Ciego Y Perdido En Una Ciudad Extrana" is an 11 minute song and it's pretty amazing. The first 4 minutes she's almost speaking the words as an eerie soundscape with no melody can be heard in the background. We then start to get a beat 4 minutes in. Vocals, sax and haunting synths (or her vocal melodies) follow. It then turns jazzy with sax leading the way. Vocals and haunting synths are back 8 minutes in.

"Fuegos Artificials" is the Zeuhl track. I mean this is Zeuhl 101 folks. The rhythm, the vocals, the bass, you have to hear this one if your a fan of MAGMA. "Ultima Funcion" is just over a minute of light keys. "Morbosadoquista" opens with aggressive guitar, with female vocals that are just as aggressive. Haha. She's awesome ! Guitar and drums take over 1 1/2 minutes in. Some craziness 2 1/2 minutes in. The sax that follows is incredible. The male vocals after 4 minutes are great. "Aporte Al Jazz" is 14 seconds of Zappa-like jazz. "Con Fusions" has such a cool beat to it. A calm before 1 1/2 minutes with eerie synths. It picks back up with some excellent bass a minute later. Another calm follows. Contrast continues. "Ultimo Lamento" features flute, sax, bass, female vocals and drums in this terrific final track.

Another impressive release from FULANO, a band that fans of Jazz, Zeuhl and Avant-gard should really check out.

Fulano remains and forever will remain one of the most reminisced prog-jazz bands from Chile, in no small degree due to Jaime Vivanco's musical heritage: "El Infierno de los Payasos" is the third item of their discography and the last one with its original line-up intact. It takes a modernistic approach to the style developed in the first two albums, at times featuring the use of computerized sonic adornments, but obviously it retains some essential aspects unpolluted: this album is a manifestation of simultaneous renewal and conservation. 'Lamentos' opens the tracklist with a tremendously festive mood, patent even in the most serene moments: it's like a Latinized Art Bears. Track 2 'Convicciones (de 3 Minutos)' does not last 3, but 7+ minutes. It bears a Zappa-friendly satirical mood through its show tempo; the tenor sax and bass solos are just amazing, partially resolving the track's delicate tension. Track 3 is an hermetically titled circus-like prelude to 'Basura', which brings back and enhances the sense of extroversion that had prevailed in the oponer. Jequier shies particularly here. 'Ciego y Perdido en una Ciudad Extraña' occupies a 11-minute span: this track features ethereal atmospheres, at times getting quite languid and minimalistic. The schemes provided by sax, drums and bass feel really solid through the track's overall tenuous mood. The machine effects for the last seconds is an effective portrait of our automated times. 'Fuegos Artificiales' is an agile exercise on jazz-rock bathed in RIO waters, while 'Función' is a brief keyboard nocturne, whose brevity doesn't keep it from being powerfully evocative. 'Morbosadoquista' finds the band exploring its rockier side, seasoned with funky flavors: the rap ornaments in some vocal deliveries feel really aggressive, which makes sense with the track's general dynamics. 'Aporte al Jazz' is a brief Dixieland-style fanfare that leads to 'Con Fusiones', a masterful piece that combines 74-75 Zappa and classic Weather Report: the complex melodic and rhythmic arrangements are managed with total ease. The album's last 2 ½ minutes are occupied by 'Último Lamento', a song with simplistic yet captivating melodic basis: its simple magic grows in power as the ensemble's sound becomes gradually more vivacious toward the end. After an ambitious album such as "En el Búnker", it was wise of the Fulano guys to make a stand for a more dynamic album without letting go of their gusto for musical sophistication and groove. Yet another excellent recording from this excellent band.