|
DESIERTO AVANT GARDEGalápagosPsychedelic/Space Rock3.12 | 6 ratings |
From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website
|
Cesar Inca
like
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator |
Too short, really too short, it lasts less than 35 minutes!... but a very good album
is "Desierto Avant Garde", Galápagos' third release. This band stands out as one of the
most important new bands devoted to the recapitulation of old-fashioned psychedelic heavy
rock. Having started their days as a power-trio, the addition of a permanent keyboard to the
augmented line-up really helped the now quartet to expand on the artsy side of their own
rock sound: one might argue that Galápagos should have taken advantage of the sonic
framework and go for longer developments of at least most of the tracks in this album's
repertoire, and I actually would agree 100% with them; but, all in all, the fact remains that
this album is appealing and interesting. The opener 'Antenas y Charcos' sounds like a
Sabbath-ish version of Pescado Rabioso and Invisible (two essential references of 70s
Argentinean hard rock), 'Y Los Días Por Llegar' goes to a more Purple-meets-Uriah territory
without letting go of the Pescado/Invisible standard, 'Después De La Guerra' brings the
prevalent heaviness through a more constrained rhythmic structure in order to provide a
more reflective feel. These first three tracks set a clear indication to the listener about the
musical essence to be developed dominantly all the way towards the end. In this way, we
can notice that the title track remains on the constrained realm installed by the preceding
track and enriches it with a jazzier treatment of the rhythm section, which in turn helps to
emphasize a certain grayish aura in the basic compositional idea: the result is a particular
exercise on psychedelic rock, something that the guys of Big Elf might have been proud of,
for instance. 'En Línea Recta' and 'Qué Se Puede Hacer' find the band delivering a sweeter
side, with the former bringing a serene mood and the latter surpassing the former in terms
of emotional languidness: up to this point, there has not been one single track that couldn't
have been expanded some more time so the thematic development in each of them could
generate some exceptionally impressive impact on the listener. What we have here is a
catalogue of very good songs that could and should have been longer. 'Nada Que Ver'
brings back the Pescado Rabioso thing to the fore, not unlike the firs ttwo
songs. 'Practicando Tiro Al Ego' is the longest track in the album: reasonably introspective,
quite solid concerning the psychedelic standard, very similar to "Meddle"-era Pink Floyd
during its expanded interlude that eventually turns into a 3 minute closure. The album's
final song, 'Se Está Cayendo El Cielo', states an acoustic guitar-based closing statement
a-la Neil Young, so the whole experience motivates a meditative attitude as some sort of
farewell. This nice end culminates the good qualities of this album, which (I reiterate) could
have exploited its artsy potential more thoroughly: good psychedelic rock from South
America for the new millennium thanks to Galápagos.
Cesar Inca |
3/5 |
MEMBERS LOGIN ZONEAs a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums. You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials). Social review commentsReview related links |
|