Y MURIÓ LA TARDE

The history of this band and their original album is somewhat atypical. The group was formed in 1983 during the prog dark ages., and the 1985 LP was a "split release", with side 1 belonging to NIRGAL VALLIS and Side 2 to Arturo Meza & Maja Rustige. I'm not sure how common this was but it's a new concept to me, other than on compilations. The sales were not encouraging enough at the time, but in 1995 the group reformed just long enough to lay down 4 more tracks cut from a similar cloth. These appeared as bonus material on the Musea reissue shortly thereafter, padding out the running time to a proper LP length after omitting the Arturo Meza portion, which I have therefore never heard.

I have been listening to "Y Murio La Tarde" for a while on the assumption that it was an Italian group rather than from Mexico, which betrays my rudimentary Spanish but is also corroborated by Spotify's insistence on pairing NIRGAL VALLIS with continental bands. Admittedly mellower than 90% of Latin prog of any stripe, the folk here is always balanced by bell like electronic keyboards, particularly Moogs and electric piano; violins; and winds which cast the band in a more symphonic light than their categorization might suggest. As I alluded, the bonus cuts are well and truly compatible with the originals, even including a lengthy, this time, instrumental, epic "Memorias de Un Cometa" that, along with the title track, are among the highlights here. I would also add "Alberich" and "El Tiempero" to that list. My main criticism is that very little here moves me or even distracts me much, but I'm sure the playing and vocals alone would click emotionally with many listeners.

The name of the band refers to a specific long river channel on the planet Mars dating back to the time when the planet was ostensibly more water than land. I'm not sure I would class their sole full length release as quite so otherworldly or even awe inspiring as that formation might be, but its history is both unique and inspiring right here on earth. 3.5 stars.