CRONOMAD

I am very happy to review this album at last, because I wanted to do it months ago but for some reasons I couldn't, but well, I am here, and happy because this Mexican band Cronomad has become one of my most precious discovers of this years, and though I had not seen them live yet, their music has totally caught my attention and has left me satisfied due to their great quality and originality. Cronomad has so far released one studio album and two EP's, this full length one entitled Solve was released last year (2014) and I believe it was one of the best Mexican releases of the year, without a doubt.

This album has eight compositions that make a total time of 35 minutes, it might be considered a short album, but man, those 35 minutes are filled with exquisite experimental music that offers psychedelic rock, some folk moments and heavier passages that as a result give us a wonderful progressive rock album. It starts with "Tugurio", a quite experimental track that has some cool atmospheres and nuances that let us know their tendency to decorate the music with some spacey sounds. The instruments that Cronomad uses are the "conventional" ones, with the addition of flute (a true highlight of the band) and bassoon. "Cronofunk" as the title suggests is a delicious funky track in which the bass sound will make you enjoy the time, but in which you might also want to dance, due to the delicious style and the sound implemented by keyboards and flute. The compositional skills of the band are great, attention!

With "Tumbao" the band delights us with a feast of soft psychedelic moments created by keyboards, and complemented by guitars, flute, bass and drums. The music is easy to dig, and I think it is very visual, I mean, someone can put images and create a story on its head, while listening to it. The next track is "Moloko", and without a doubt it is one of my favorite songs from this album due to its diversity of sounds and styles. The spacey sounds and the psychedelia is evident here, so they don't deny their purest tendencies. A well-structured track in which all the elements are into place, all the musicians add their grain of sound, all are equally important. "Définition de l'élégance" is a short and soft musical piece that offers a moment of relaxation; here there is also a jazzy feeling and at half the song some voices sampled, making a new example of the variety of sounds that Cronomad offers.

"Toluca City" is the city where they are based, so I assume this track represents something special for them. A great song that has a cool overdose of psychedelia, but that also adds some kind of avant-garde sound implemented by wind instruments, so the song has great sections, passages in which a vast quantity of elements appear and provide a salad of sounds. This is one of the finest tracks here. But my true favorite comes right away with "Titán", which I believe is the pinnacle of the band, a truly experimental song that is much closer to the RIO and avant-garde realms, letting us know how great they are as composers and performers. The use of winds is outstanding, and let me tell you that in this track and in the previous one, Adrian Terrazas, former The Mars Volta member, plays the saxophone, which happens to be a crucial element on these songs. This particular track caught my attention since the very first listen, it is a true musical orgasm!

And the album finishes with "Chuwau" which happens to be the longest composition here, a song that represents the great and experimental side of Cronomad, in which the bass plays a main role here, accompanied by those psychedelic keyboards. A great track to close this excellent debut album! I repeat, I am happy with this discover, because these young Mexican musicians has a lot of talent, and I am sure they will positively surprise some of you, progressive rock fans. My final grade, 3.75, rounded up to 4 stars.

Enjoy it!

One year after their debut EP, Mexican band Cronomad delights us with a second and more mature EP entitled La danza etérea, in which they offer five cool songs that make a total time of 22 minutes of a great mixture of space prog and other subdivisions of prog. The quality of the sound is much better than its predecessor, so this one might be a good starting point for those who don't know Cronomad's music.

It opens with "Arábiga rabiosa", a great track that shows how experimental they are, because here we can find elements of psych rock, folk and even some hard rock moments. The vocals are nice, but I believe they are not the strongest point of the band, I prefer much more their instrumental side and all the images one can picture with their constan changes of sounds and rhythms. This one is a great opener! "El diablo" is an amazing track that shows how good they are as composers and as performers, because the music is challenging and addictive, just like good old progressive rock. Love the flute work here and in all their songs, by the way. There is also a saxophone later, and that great guitar that sometimes is sensual and sometimes heavier.

"La aldea" was also featured on the first EP, but this time we can listen to a different (and better) version of it, in which once again guitar and flute are the elements that will catch your attention. "El lament del tigre" is also a re-recording which was featured on their debut EP. Again, the sound is better and the arrangements are greater, also, this time they included vocals which add more nuances to this interesting song. Finally, this EP ends with "Viaje a Urantia" which I think is the most adventurous songs of them all, and the one that fits better as the ending track.

This is a great release, a proof that in Mexico exist bands making great prog rock in this decade. My final grade will be 3 stars. Enjoy it!

— First review of this album —

This 2015 has been a wonderful year in my personal book, because I managed to discover dozens of progressive rock bands from the whole world, whose talent is truly satisfying. One of those bands is Cronomad, who besides making great music, belong to my lovely country, Mexico. This band has released one full length album (which I will review soon) and two EP's, being "Equilibrio" the debut one, which was launched back in 2012.

Cronomad is a band that explores and experiments a lot with the music, so it is normal to listen to different prog genres on it, from post -rock, symphonic, to space rock and avant-garde; though I must say that they fit best under the space/pysch side of prog. Fortunately, their music is free to listen and can be downloaded in that "name-your-price" option on their Bandcamp site, so please feel free to go and discover their musical realm.

Equilibrio features four songs and a total time of 14 minutes. It opens with "La danza etérea", a short track that floats on a galaxy, it is calm and even relaxing, and actually I think it does not really represents Cronomad's music. With "La Aldea" we hear to spoken words in Spanish, and then a melody can be listened for the first time. The quality of the recording sound is not the best, but well, this debut EP is just the prelude to something much better, believe me. In this track we can listen to a great guitar, and also to the flute which will become a crucial element in this band's music.

"El lament del tigre" is the longest track here, and the most interesting. I like a lot that psychedelic feeling they implement, but in a very soft way, so it is easy to enjoy. Here the bass and synth sounds can be better appreciated than in the previous tracks. In the last part of the minute we can enjoy a post-rockish feel. The last song is "Re-bibi, a sweet and soft track with some bird's sound and a nice piano that produces an emotional sound.

Well, this is the first effort from Cronomad, I liked it but it is far from their debut full length album, so I think this is only for fans. Two stars. Enjoy it!