MUSICA D'REPUESTO

The album starts off strongly with "Anttes", a rocking prog song with lots of energy and a memorable theme interspersed with tritoney melodies, interlocking guitar, violin and keyboard lines and dissonant breaks. The title track follows in the same vein, except with a more pronounced jazz fusion vibe and even a slight krautrock feel, with band leader/bassist Lino García and new drummer Raylor Oliva providing a steady beat over a noisy backdrop, over which the violin, piano, analog synth and the dual guitar line-up are given free reign to play polyrhythms, weird pointillistic melodies and chaotic superimposed solos, with only a vocal interlude in the middle offering the listener some quarter. This format is repeated on several other tracks later on, but the title track is where it all comes together in the best way.

The eight-minute "Nostalghia" is really a surprise, with its peaceful piano-led downtempo intro with electronic drums, interrupted by a violin freakout which gradually returns the track to serenity before it collapses into pure atonal chaos in the final three minutes. The band goes for a somewhat similar sound on two more songs, but these don't try to hide their true identity as much: "Occeano" starts out as new agey tune with tablas but quickly turns into a funky rock jam with world music vocals, while "Besoos" has a syncopated techno beat running all throughout but delves right away into dissonant jamming, sounding sort of like a King Crimson improvisation from the ProjeKct days. There is quite a bit of King Crimson influence on this album, in fact. "Imprreso" and "Caterva" feature Frippy guitar arpeggios that sound like they belong on that band's Discipline album, and a lot of songs are built upon background textures that sort of resemble Robert Fripp's guitar soundscapes. Finally at the end we're treated to what's probably my favourite song on the album overall: A re-recording of "D' Cada 10 Hombres Q' Miran TV", a song that was featured on their debut but is presented here in a noticeably rearranged version. It's so satisfying to hear the guitar, violin and piano play its glorious main theme in unison, while Oliva backs them up with his best drumming performance on the album; a very effective and memorable closer.

One thing I can't get into as much as I'd like is Lino García's vocals, which come in two flavours: I'm okay with his attempts at imitating a Gregorian chant on "Expresso" and "Imprreso", and even his sleepy bossa nova-ish singing style fits well enough with the more subdued tracks like "Nostalghia" but it does not fit at all with the more rocking tracks, where it sounds rather insecure and out-of-place. My other main criticism is that the drums are often mixed way too loud, to the point where they even clip on some tracks. This is distracting, but ultimately not enough to conceal the obvious talent stored on this collection. Recommended for Crimson fans and anyone looking for avant-jazz rock with bite.

The trio's biggest limitation lay in the fact that while all were clearly skilled keyboard players, in addition to Orlando Bernal being able to play some commendable guitar lines and Pedro Pablo Pedroso holding his own on multiple bowed instruments, excess money and good equipment were probably wanting, leading to a slightly muddy recording quality and an overreliance on cheap digital synthesizers and drum machines (even some bass parts appear to have been played on a keyboard). The production and mixing is all over the map too but somehow all this manages to add up to a strikingly unique sound.

While some common influences such as King Crimson and Henry Cow can be identified throughout the whole album, there is nonetheless a dichotomy between songs that are recognizable as rock, and other tracks that deconstruct that very notion. "Suite #3" is somewhere in the middle, beginning as a fast minimalism-inspired and arpeggio-driven guitar and keyboard piece before promptly making way for a sampled orchestra and atonal violin improvisations, only blending back into something resembling the first part by the song's end. "La Tristeza" on the other hand has no tonal centre at all or even much of a rhythmic centre, sounding more like a dissonant King Crimson jam from the double trio era, while "Anunciación" comes close to electroacoustic free improvisation in its first half and haunted, mournful chamber music being played on an underwater radio in its second part. "Hierba Mala" constantly fights to regain and retain its structure but keeps disintegrating into discordance, resulting in a deeply paranoid, unsettling and unpredictable piece, one of the album's better moments.

Still, the most memorable parts of the album remain the more "conventional" progressive rock songs, including "D' Cada 10 Hombres" and the excellent opener "Parche", both of which emit an air of panicked desperation. The only song that falls in neither category is "Baile De Payasos" which feels much more symphonic and reminiscent of standard adventure film music, the only slight misfire on an otherwise outstanding effort. I also have to give credit to the 1-minute title track that closes the album and managed to fool me thrice in a row as to what it was going to be, starting out as an acoustic guitar shuffle, then turning into a random sound collage before a funky beat starts going which then immediately gives way again to reveal that the track is a random sound collage after all.

The 2021 re-issue (labelled a "remaster" despite few noticeable improvements to the sub-optimal sound quality) adds a track that was left on the cutting room floor: the jazzy Holdsworthy "El Lagarto Del Cuello Rosa" which feels slightly out of place but its cool chord progression and guitar and synth solos are a welcome addition nonetheless.

Anyway, their sound essence is, as it is said, as though Discipline Crimson meets RIO. Honestly, we cannot find something novel in their style ... this tendency can be sounded from the beginning - the first track "Parche", with complex rhythms, heavy & sticky riffs, a bit metallic guitar solo, and dreamy but weird programming sounds. Just the same phenomenon can be via the seventh "Anunciacion Y Danza D'los Cordoros". Always suggest Pedro Pablo's violin solo might mimic David Cross' one, but could invite not fuzziness nor sharpness but whacked-out drunken drive (Yeah I love this poverty sorry). The short second track "La Cabeza, Cto + Roja, + Verda La Jaqueca" has a very impressive brilliant and keen-spindled electric piano solo, with something jazzy around it. One of the most problematic (controversial) track may be "La Tristeza Es Una Enfermedad D'transmision Sexual" methinks - weirdly freaked-out electric tones (noises?) can be annoying for some listeners, and the hopping delightful electric piano solo can be very fascinating for other - a difficult one, maybe.

On the contrary, "Suite #3" is a fantastic psychedelia. With exotic, ethnic, and esoteric atmosphere we can be veiled completely. Slightly Krautrock-ish flavour in such a cold-cold heart we can taste in "Hierba Maia", under so painful electricity. Air can be altered quickly, in the eighth "Baile D'payasos" is an obvious Symphonic theatre ... one of the most terrific songs in their work, not avantgarde though. "aV abuC" is a reverse back of the recorded tape, it's a giveaway, funny one.

In conclusion, they could not do anything Neues, but I consider there should be lots of fans for them and only one creation by Cuban gang ... Me too!