CIZAÑA DE LOS AMORES

Fifth Omar RL album,released in 2010, offers very different music from few previous releases again. Stylistically this album is close to his great Xenophanes (2009), even if not such essential one.

Musicians there on this album are usual for Omar's solo releases bassist Juan Alderete De La Peña and Marcel Rodriguez Lopez (Drums, Organ, Piano, Synths) besides of himself on guitar,piano and synth. Ximena Sariñana Rivera sings on 6 songs there, when opener and final song both are reserved for American singer,living in Paris - Lisa Papineau. To be honest, I absolutely prefer Ximena's vocals...

Album was recorded in Germany, and has strong European influences on it. Music there less chaotic, then in " organized chaos" TMV and Omar's solo recordings, but far not so Latin -pop oriented,as on few his last years solo works with Ximena.

In fact, listener will hear there interested synth/guitar based psychedelic prog with post-rock (!) influences, great Latin vocals and some Latin fusion elements. Not very usual mix for Omar? OK, but you never know what his next album will be about.

Compositions are complex, full of guitar's and synth's sound constructions, but whole sound is quite aerial, heavy psychedelic, but not dark or depressing at all. And because of some melodic element,some Latin fusion moments and great Ximena's vocals, all music sounds very accessible.

As often, this album's music sounds as blueprint for some later TMV works (even sound is more as demo release). But it is really one interesting work for Omar fans, and could be recommended for everyone interested to start listening his music.

My rating is 3,5, rounded to 4 (for new trend and constructive experimentation).

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.

Omar's flip flopping between dense, experimental madness and more accessible material is a trend that continues to rear its head here with Cizaña De Los Amores, and as always, I think it's a pretty cool aspect to his sound, especially when it leads to one of his most conventional album yet, more often than not bordering more on the side of psychedelic alternative rock rather than trying especially hard to lean into his more experimental tendencies. Yet again, the majority of this album feels like it's paying attention especially towards melodies, both from the softer playing style of Omar and the ever passionate vocals of Ximena Sariñana. The strangest stuff you'll find here really comes down to the more abstract qualities of the album rather than anything as easy to pinpoint as using strange sounding synths and the like, with the atmosphere being especially notable for how uncanny it can be with the way Omar's effects are used to make the vocals sound so detached from the rest of the music. My favourite moments in here have to be those that go for something slightly more layered without fully descending into more outright surreal territory, such as with a frenetic riff playing off the central melodies of Corazon, or some dense, distorted keyboards being slowly introduced over what begins as a rather minimalistic affair in No hay más respuestas. It's definitely a case of these smaller moments culminating in an album that while it rarely reaches outright incredible heights, but one that feels remarkably consistent and cohesive in its creative vision, and it's what ends up making Cizaña De Los Amores such a good listen despite not quite reaching for the grander heights of some of ORL's other solo material.