CUENTOS Y FÁBULAS VOL. 2

Luz de Riada is one of the current Mexican bands that make me feel very proud, they are a group of four talented musicians whose compositional skills are always floating and bringing new ideas, new concepts and fresh offerings, which is why allowed them to play in festivals such as Baja Prog, or tours in Chile and other cities. Their debut álbum has been greatly received by mexican press and fans, and even some foreign ones, which boosted the band to continue creating music and new records.

Their ambition has given now their second "son", named Cuentos y Fábulas Vol. 2, which is like the live version of the debut, with 14 pieces that were performed and recorded in shows from 2012 to 2013, so though you will find here several songs included in the first álbum, the live condiment, the improvisation and the guest musicians in the short songs (fables) will make you have a good time, and appreciate the experimental music of this great band.

"Intro" is a short piece with only percussion (not drums), that leads to "Vórtices" which nowadays might be one of the audience's favorites Luz de Riada songs. I love it because it brings the accurate energy to open the eyes and feel like the music has something to tell us. It starts with sax and later drums, stick and bass join so together they form a experimental piece with rock, jazz fusion tunes and even some mid-east flavors.

"Doméstico Depredador" is a wonderful progressive rock track, the energy here prevails on top, and though winds disappear, here a couple of electric guitars interact and speak to themselves, while stick and drums mark an amazing rhythm. A experimental, avant-garde track comes with "Comparsa de Cronopios", where winds appear again, creating a chat with the strings, so one speaks, the other answers, it is not a battle, but in moments might sound like one. "Ritual de fulanos" continues with the long compositions, the "Tales", this time with a kind of gypsy, mediterranean sound on it. One can easily appreciate the musicians skills, their times and accuracy to play notes in the right moments, so the atmospheres and nuances can be perfectly enjoyable through this journey.

The improvisations (Fables) come now with "El atrevimiento de las riadas", and though some of them in studio are shorter, we know in a live concert everything can be optimized. This one is like a slow jam where the musicians collaborate with a diversity of textures and nuances, while one can put images in our minds. After a couple of minutes it becomes more mysterious, with a sitar-like sound thar make us travel to mid-east lands. "Por la puerta trasera" is a great song that wants to reflect the terrible political storm we suffer in Mexico, where our "leaders" always go out in the back door. The music is wonderful, the winds catches our attention first, but it is great to perceive the stick and the guitar in the background, because they perfectly complement each other.

"Parlamento Saurio" is the last long composition, the last Tale. It has a Crimsonian style, easily perceived in the strings, but it is also a special song because it is the only one that features vocals, and though Ramsés Luna is not actually singing, he plays an intuitive vocal game that transmits images to the listeners. The last six-piece bunch of the album are fables, short tracks, visual improvisations. The first one is "El gato que no quería saber", a 3-minute piece with dark and somber atmospheres produced by guitars.

Later it comes "La rata maruca" whose sound belongs to the RIO scene, some Henry Cow (live sounds) reminiscences can be found here. "Un llamado" are six seconds of drums introducing the next track. "Marxistas de costumbres exóticas" is another weird piece where the instruments create difficult noises, atmospheres that are not easy to dig, but to the shortness of the song, they vanish after a while. "Mar afuera" gives more space to guitars, and also to some soundscapes that take again some Crimsonian textures. Finally, "La rana que olvidó al chango" is a nice fable where winds and strings have another kind of chat, each one with its respective saying, but always communicating something.

It is a great live compillation that might work for new listeners as an introcution, or for solid fans, as a live album that brings good memories. In spite their few years as a band, I have seen them at least 6 or 7 times, and they always offer good shows. Now I am eagerly waiting for their upcoming studio album.

Enjoy it!