Video: Las Ardillas - "El Tren"


Anxiety is an insidious and treacherous feeling. Opening the doors to nothingness and feeding on your afflictions, it can choke you and leave you without indicating the nearest exit. "El Tren," first single and closing number off of Las Ardillas' self-titled LP carefully dissects this ravenous beast, without foreseeing any hope. The video clip, directed by Dede Ene, who conceives many videos for other Boricua punk rock acts, such as Dávila 666 and Los Vigilantes, has an aesthetic and graphic approach that echoes Hitchcock’s Psycho. In fact, like the main characters of this horror film, bassist/vocalist Koki appears to be submerged in destructive behavior and inner conflicts that may be too severe to resolve.

Las Ardillas (who share two members with Dávila 666) address their apprehensions and fears with a screwy roughness and a lugubrious quality. While words like “estamos llegando a la claridad” can give the impression that there is still some hope remaining, the title itself rather seems to refer to a more misanthropic perception. The "light at the end of the tunnel" may simply be the headlights of an oncoming train.