PERFUME DE MUJER

One of the few Prog bands to hail from Cuba, Perfume De Mujer were located in the capital city of the country Havana and performed during the 90's as a project of multi-instrumentalist Abel Omar Perez and guitarist Orlando Bernal.Their first appearance took place in the Luna Negra compilation ''Variaciones En La Cuerda'' and in 1996 the duo debuted with the rare CD ''Variaciones En La Cuerda Vol. II y III''.Two years later Perfume De Mujer had a proper line-up, including nicknamed-musicians Bolo on guitars and PPP on violins/keyboards along with some guests on vocals, flutes and cello.The second work ''Pollos D'Granja'' was also released on Luna Negra in 1998.

To my ears Perfume De Mujer are one of those bands which have self-destructive tendencies.While the talent and exhibitional skills of the musicians are undisputed, the overall performance of the group ranges from chaotic still impressive RIO-influenced Jazz Rock to somewhat dull Funk full of questionable vocal parts.The former parts are really good and very complex with some superb bass parts and FRIPP-ian guitar attacks, including sudden breaks and technical display.These are also nicely supported by some great violin themes and light cello sections, which actually add the album the huge RIO influence.Some tracks have also a very nice dramatic atmosphere, created by the balanced presence of the instruments.On the other hand the album suffers from some uninspired rhythmic nuances, the out-of-climate funky lines and the amateur vocals, which sound often out of tune.Especially some multi-vocal choruses totally spoil the instrumental level of the album.Additionally ''Pollos D'Granja'' is a very lengthy work with limited trully great parts, so the listener might get a bit bored along the way.

I would definitely prefer to hear an all-instrumental version of this group, while the absence of the pleasant funky themes among the overall haunting and dramatic atmosphere of the album would have helped.As it stands, ''Pollos D'Granja'' is a good album only for fans of complex guitar-led Jazz-Rock and RIO/Avant-Prog...2.5 stars,