Goodbye Victorian Houses, Antoine Reverb

GOODBYE VICTORIAN HOUSES, ANTOINE REVERB
Happy Garlic, Mexico ****
Rating: 88
By Juan Manuel Torreblanca

When I was in college, studying language and literature, I often hated teachers who turned courses that were supposed to be about an author and his work into endless anecdotes about their own encounters with the author. Nevertheless, I am quite tempted to begin this review in just that fashion, as I believe it might summon a useful sort of atmosphere. So please bear with me and let's travel 3 or 4 years back in time to Guadalajara, my first visit there. I will never forget a long summer party night ending up at this beautiful house (not Victorian, though), whose owner I didn't really know. And there, a few minutes after my arrival, the owner's friends cajoled him, a seemingly shy Andy (with his thick, square eyeglasses), into getting his acoustic guitar and singing a few songs. I could’ve never expected what happened then: a bittersweet, perfect, whisper-like voice poured over everyone like a thin layer of bright white snow. We all froze in delighted awe.

I vaguely kept in touch with Andy and I later knew about the creation of Antoine Reverb, and even heard a couple demos (which included, yes, lots of reverb). Some time passed and I heard of them finishing a record. Recently I received an invitation to see them live at a hip little venue (seminal to Mexico City’s scene). I went there, survived the horrid sound system, became an instant fan, and got their album too!

So, before I get to the music on Goodbye Victorian Houses, I must say that seeing this kid again, onstage, joined by his 4 band-mates, was a pretty different experience compared to that first time around his garden-table. Allow me to try describing the gig briefly: it was still surprising. Andy led with that confident, natural, poignant voice; but now it was supported and empowered elegantly by the superb harmonies of the band, the warmth of all the strings plucked and strummed, the jazzy punch of some peculiar drumming and the heavenly spacey analog keyboards. He didn’t seem that shy up there, but it’s not like they were dancing nor doing the interactive-show-thing either. The word that could describe the whole band best is, probably, ‘cool’. They’re not trying to be indie as in becoming the umpteenth version of Interpol or The Strokes (thank god!); in fact they look more like an avant garde/shoegaze/folk version of the Scooby Doo crowd, with all due respect. I felt as if a portal had opened between this joint in downtown D.F. and some indie/underground club on Queen St., Toronto, or maybe Sweden. So, yeah, A.R. sounds and looks really good. Even their wooden keyboard stands (reminiscent of art nouveau furniture) stand out. There’s a mysterious depth to them that makes their music very cinematographic. There’s also this intimate immediacy, this low-fi, subtly-punk rawness that makes them very fresh and real. Amazingly, all of this translated from their live performance (which came first to me) to their recording in a rather fantastic way.

Goodbye Victorian Houses takes you somewhere. Stories are being told there; however, something tells me they might not want anyone or everyone to get all the detail right away. You get a glimpse first, and it’s like overhearing a secret, like eavesdropping unintentionally, like arriving in the middle of a conversation: you don’t understand everything, you may not know the full story, but you can still get the feeling of it… and it’s a powerful feeling! And if you come back, and when you do it over and over again, you’ll realize that you probably won’t ever understand it all, but I bet that –before you can tell– their music will have become cherished company.

Damn! I feel I’ve written way more than I should already and I haven’t said all I’d like to. What does the record sound like? for example. Well, to paint a quick picture, I might have to resort to another tool that I usually hate: comparison. Think of Broken Social Scene inviting the guys from Belle and Sebastian to work on an old bunch of songs that Billy Corgan wrote with Brian Wilson… and then keep in mind that Antoine Reverb sounds exactly like none of the above. They sound like kids of the age of global inspiration. A fine example of Guadalajara’s interesting scene. They made a melodically mature, ironic & shimmery album that sometimes offers little hypnotic minimantras (“Lucy” and her “supermarket music” or the intriguing chanting of “we’ll turn into something that makes sense to you and I, something that our mouths won’t be afraid to name” in “Jenny Drives an Automatic”) while it sometimes borders the epic explosive shores of Arcade Fire. Chimes and rattles abound, yes, extremely enjoyable banjos, mandolins & ukuleles too (not to mention the brilliance of the cello, the trombone, the trumpet and the clarinet amongst other special colors used here) but you won’t find no bells and whistles. There’s just enough here to build their unique amber-blue atmosphere, their mix of the sublime and the erratic.

I held myself back before, but now that I’m reaching the end of my review, I must say one last thing about the lyrics (no, I won’t go into the endless question of why won’t you write in Spanish if you’re a Mexican band?) but I will say I wish the lyrics were a bit more intelligible to my ears, ‘cause that’s one of the main paths to my heart. But, still, Goodbye Victorian Houses did take me somewhere, it sorta made me revisit a fictitious memory of speeding on my old bicycle through an autumn-red forest road at sunset (in love).

♫♫♫ "Fantastic"
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The One The Two The Three, Laboratories

THE ONE THE TWO THE THREE, LABORATORIES
Gha-Ngha Records, Mexico
Rating: 83
By Carlos Reyes

The One The Two The Three or one of those calculated sequences where art and science meet is a three-piece EP from Laboratories, a revealing electro act from Juarez, Mexico. Earlier this year the Mexican collective/shop Hupop released a compilation titled Recomienda Vol.1 where they included some very interesting emerging bands including Vicente Gayo and Duzna, nothing as compelling as the computerized and commanding world crafted by Laboratories. The concept: a persecution of space and time, or as better put in one of the album’s comic frames, “the sonic display and interpretation of human realities is quintessential entertainment upon the senses and subsequently the mind.”

Don’t get too serious by the premise or their name, this is fortunately not a sophisticated realm of scientists approaching new media but a disoriented fun experience by some kids “us kids we going crazy / us kids we born crazy.” The band allocates every single resource and distributes its scope in group-like anthems; this is clearly not the work of a single author but a collaborative shared vision in retro-leaning habitat. Laboratories set up some missions to resolve, some concern humanity and the future, but having fun it’s ultimately their priority.

There are so many words in each of the three songs that they become difficult to process, luckily they have included the lyrics in the file’s download. “The Scene Kids” is greatly choreographed, and actually, it sounds like they’re raping the words and letting the music carry the wavelengths. They deliver great lines with continuous phrasing such as “I’ll inhale the plant, the mystics of the soil, the land, the world, ninety-nine lives / Past, present, and future wives, an eternal high…” they’re as mystical as any of the songs from the critically acclaimed Ayrton Senna EP by Delorean. In the surface of “The Love” (Physical) it almost seems like they’re letting go some of their concept, they don’t, they’re just juxtaposing a one night stand as one of their missions, to “focus on the physical love” as a need and forget about the feeling.

“The Battles of us Fools” is a furious gala of colors and radiant machinery, guided by mind-blowing lyricism on the verge of detonating its political frustration. Laboratories host the most amazing party here, with lasers flying around clashing handclaps, drums, it is chaos and it is beautiful. I can only wish there were more tracks in here and perhaps some of them in Spanish (it would be nice); EPs with only three tracks are a hesitation when it comes to rating them, but along with The One The Two The Three this folder contains some awesome extras that would make an awesome booklet, including an action comic titled Refugees that rounds up the music perfectly, so there you go, this is an awesome treat.

♫♫♫ "The Battle of us Fools"
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Almismotiempo, Camila Moreno

ALMISMOTIEMPO, CAMILA MORENO
Sello Azul, Chile ****
Rating: 80
By Carlos Reyes

“Porque aquí todos los nudos se desatan con canciones”, Camila Moreno embraces this statement in her bold, flourishing first album Almismotiempo, a showcase of pop and folk in the lines of Gepe and Lisandro Aristimuño, but more earthly in its approach to command multi-dimensional songs that are not necessarily trying to escape from Latin-American folk as the world knows it, but definitely sounds too personal to fall into epic or protestant guidelines. I don’t think there has been an album as effective in trying to hide its pop and rock influences since Gepe’s Gepinto, both albums maintain their distance from Victor Jara while sounding like him and at the same time pulling off a loop from Fiona Apple.

In its most subtle side, Almismotiempo attends the anomalies of the heart, among them the desires of the flesh, negotiating both structures through a secular insight, not religiously oriented but definitely spiritual. Through the years music critics have learned not to trust artists’ arguments regarding their creations; but during a recent interview, Camila proved some of them can’t help but be honest or at least convincing with their responses. She says she has a fascination with pop culture and Bjork, but once she sat down to make music, she was unconsciously making folk music. Mind not to say, this is not your average folk/world album but an extension of the ohsobeautiful ‘cancion melodramatica popular.’

There’s a thing about Chilean and Argentinean folk that makes songs seem heavier than what they are, like a shield surrounding melody and guiding it toward march-like sequences. This is best exemplified in “Millones”, the leading single and the only statement song in the album. It’s a piece about institutions, corruption and everything in between. In particular, it’s a dispute over the healthcare system, while an American author would focus on insurances and the fantasized idea of providing care to all people, this young Chilean songstress is left with remote needs such as vaccinations for secluded villages.

Almismotiempo bursts with beautiful orchestrations in “Primero Que Apune” and “Pera”, both tracks shroud with sad compositions and yet find a way to release optimism as a reward. Chile’s pop is fascinated with timings, steps, shapes, forms, and Camila Moreno adds a little of her own, it’s the gift of fragmentation to which she ironically pays homage in “Ay.” Camila’s broken deep-felt voice in “Delfin del Deseo” reminds me of the early Julieta Venegas and Francisca Valenzuela. The album has a sense of contained feeling to it, which is evident in the jazzy “Lo Cierto” and the fatalistic “Cae y Calla.” Ultimately, Moreno’s debut triumphs by allowing ‘flaws’ into its system, it takes itself into vulnerable ground and it doesn’t need to shout or sensationalize its message, as the closing track “Trenza” states, someday and somehow “todo se pondra a bailar.”

♫♫♫ "Millones"
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Antiaventura, Anti

ANTIAVENTURA, ANTI
Federación de Universos Pop, Spain ****
Rating: 84
By Carlos Reyes

Anti is the pseudonym of pop visionary Tito Pintado, a guy who has been around the industry for a while and who finally seems to find a receptive audience to consume his highly compound music. Antiaventura nourishes from the most insignificant things out there; it rolls around abandoned topics and distant compositions to command its instincts as a functional box of melodic experience. Hence the title, this is not your typical electropop album and definitely not a sonic adventure. It’s a collection of seductive episodes about love and despair (surprisingly not depressing). Fortunately, it’s generous to the adult ear, compassionate perhaps, on the verge of detonating light through its twelve pieces one can’t help but dance to.

Anti is teeming with ethereal pop and handling it with a precise scope that allows it to be right at the middle of the minimal pixel-driven tempo of Antiguo Automata Mexicano and the cheerful fury-driven timing of Friendly Fires. Assimilates space and tonal variations like very few albums this year. “Corazones Legendarios” is a shining indispensable marvel from start to finish. Unorthodox as any track from The Dirty Projectors’s Bitte Orca, the song is a grandiose statement of affiliation, either musically or by the heart. Collaborating with beautiful vocals is Teresa Iturrioz, one half of Single (the band) and who has great chemistry with Anti since he does the backup vocals at Single’s live shows. Anti’s voice isn’t necessarily great but he sure knows how to melt it to evoke/manipulate an emotion.

It’s strange but despite the reflective spirit, the album does profile a modern composer whose biggest strength are musical passages as proven in songs like “Festival” and “Diamantes”, if you like Nuuro’s All Clear & The Reddest Ruby you’ll get blown away by Anti’s creations. I’m especially excited about the references that may have influenced a track like “Iceberg”, particularly that rise and fall that makes this piece so special. “El Mago” has more of a structure, by far the only classicist track in the album, reminds me of the pre-Almodovar Spanish cinema. “Lovers Rock” is probably my favorite song, it’s soulful, it’s reggae, it really doesn’t know what it is except that it aspires to be some kind of eternal dream, pretentious but it does it! in chunks, what a charm!

Antiaventura isn’t as accessible as “Corazones Legendarios”, it’s takes a processes to even assimilate its climax. There are tracks surrounded by apparently thick layers, but if you approach them right (use headphones) you’ll burst in surprise on how outstanding these pieces really are. Like discovering the charm in melismatic tracks like “Los Colores de tu Mente” and “Las Maquinas.” While other tracks like “Eligeme” and “Hollywod Babilonia” are weekend-ready in their very own delirious way. By far one of the most convincing and strangest forms of pop I’ve encountered this year, it’s a rotating spectrum in search of grey souls.

♫♫♫ "Corazones Legendarios"
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Más Mejor, Piyama Party

MAS MEJOR, PIYAMA PARTY
Independiente, Mexico ****
Rating: 85
By Carlos Reyes

Piyama Party’s second LP comes in at full force to claim a spot as one of the year’s rock albums. In fact, I think this is my second favorite album ever included on the Delhotel Records catalog, after Los Gandharvas of course. It’s not as unexpected as one would think; their self-titled debut was a standout but it’s clear they have been polishing their craft capturing the scene around them, they’re also the first Mexican band to sound like Spain’s indie rock virtuosos, from Sr. Chinarro, AMA and very much the entire catalog from Gramaciones Grabofonicas and Producciones Doradas, with that said, this is an album mostly about stories, which requires lyrical efficiency and a ‘pure’ human touch that is able to keep these anecdotes (whether true or not) at bay. This is ultimately Piyama Party’s most attractive virtue; their songs are reachable without sounding less complex than the progressive-wall-of-sound acts around.

Someone not familiarized with the Mexican culture will not contemplate Mas Mejor at its fullest; it’s a lot more than a generalized survey, even the album’s title would be hard o swallow. Let’s not tag these songs as part of a subculture, they are part of the big picture outsiders hardly visualize and I get a feeling much of Mexico’s population would neglect too. Being part of the culture is the last thing on their mind, becoming part of a cult however is a consequence of their genuine pop and rock songs. So let’s get to it already. The opener “Nosotros Los Rockers” is a bittersweet manifesto to anyone who has been on a band; it really puts the audience at the same level by telling us about their bootleg disc by The Strokes and their need for guitars and a new amplifier. It really establishes an eye-level agreement that is respected all throughout the album. In the next track “Jesus en Las Vegas” they claim Jesus is at a box match, with Maria Magdalena toasting for world peace, love and rocanrol. First single “Solo te veo en bodas” handles its romance with prolific care, plus “quedate al menudo” (common dish the morning after a wedding) has to be one of the best lines of the year.

There’s humor in every song, fortunately they are no clowns but practitioners of self-destructive criticism and sarcasm, from “No Mas Pasteles” about an overweight issue, to the phenomenon of la “Frontera” which warns that the bridge is falling and ends up telling us the prices of meat at Ruteria La Hacienda. But there’s nothing like “Fan de Carcass”, I wouldn’t be scared to call it an immediate classic and one of the most alluring songs of the year. It’s the fable on how a guy became a hardcore fan of Carcass after listening to one of their cassettes, this encounter redefines him completely, and he goes dark! “dicen que son cosas del Diablo, por eso me gustan, por eso yo las prefiero.” They decide to skip purgatory in “Atajo al Infierno”, taking a shortcut by having more fun and less time for Church.

“Edecan” sounds quite dusty with its circular strings, it’s like a criminal poignant romance with some narco references hidden in there (or not). But the established practice doesn’t always work, “Olimpiadas Alveolares” and “Tocayo” drown around memorable songs and are even obstructive to the overall adventure. I was scared to hear how they would close this, the culminating “21 horas no son suficientes” is the most hormonal and effortlessly moving piece on the album. Mas Mejor needs some vocal dexterity here and there, perhaps fewer songs, but this is a material to hold on to. Piyama Party has found a way to keep a pedestrian sensitivity while sounding like rock stars; it comes in a folder with 17 tracks inside, a beautiful booklet (on PDF) and one of the most generous musical offerings 2009 keeps for us.

♫♫♫ "Fan de Carcass"
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Pedropiedra, Pedropiedra

PEDROPIEDRA, PEDROPIEDRA
Oveja Negra, Chile ****1/2
Rating: 90
by Juan Manuel Torreblanca

¿Qué le pasa a Pedro? ¿what’s wrong with him? Well, judging by his debut solo album, I could offer three answers. Número uno: not one thing. Número dos: a worrying lot (of tragic proportions). & número tres: just enough for him to be able to write his way successfully into the high realm of enduring songwriters. Enough for an exceptionally bright and deeply human mind to pour some poignant everyday poetry into the molds of huge pop songs, filling them to the brim masterfully. And enough life experience (and resilience) to find a slow-paced but true (and certain) way into the hearts of those who still give music (and lyrics) the time they need to reveal their subtly hidden treasures and joys. This year I arrived at the conclusion that 10 songs might as well be the perfect number for an album to allow itself to be heard from start to finish, to give you all it’s got, no more. But sometimes, some longer albums (when they’re as good as Pedropiedra) make me reconsider. Here we’re offered a generous collection of 13 songs. Complex but appealing songs. Funny and silly here, thought provoking and quite rebellious there. It’s challenging, but what the hell! Maybe it’s that only albums as good as PEDROPIEDRA deserve to have us devote an average of 45 minutes of our hectic lives to them over and over and over again. & the more I listen to this one, the more I know it’s worth it. & I remember that every now & then we’re lucky enough to end up getting more than we thought we would.

Anyway, I bought this CD at a little chilango venue after hearing Pedro open for Gepe here in Mexico City, and as soon as I heard it I knew I was listening to something special and so rich in detail that I wouldn’t grasp all of it immediately. I offered to write a review and suddenly I was stuck for words. Sure, I loved the album, but I didn’t know where to begin. I didn’t want to find myself floating over a shallow pool of abstract praise. And I didn’t want to get lost in the winding story of how this record was finally made; no matter how intense, exciting and unbelievably miraculous the story itself is. Especially these days. (If you are or you become interested, you can find all of that with just one simple search). So, I have decided to focus on the songs and write some notes about –almost– each one (knowing that it’ll take a bit more space than usual, but also being convinced that it deserves it) and hopefully the resulting big picture won’t be as torn as those done for the album’s artwork.

"inteligencia dormida"
The first single is a fantastic introductory piece to the album. It exposes many of its traits: a warm & timeless sound; vocals that are impeccable, real (thank you!) & soulful, and just an awesome production overall; plus a delightful arrangement: sparkling pianos, funky & spacey keyboards, guitars, drums, a big fat bass, yummy & groovy percussion, etc... (most of these played by Pedro himself) nothing out of the ordinary, but everything in its right place, everything fresh and juicy, so juicy that I also have to commend Arturo “Turra” Medina’s job as the recording and mixing engineer for his success in achieving a surprisingly clear and powerful mix of so many elements. My first impression was: wow, this is a really elegant but nonetheless daring endeavor. Brilliant. And when it came to paying attention to the lyrics, Pedro’s genius shone maybe even brighter: the agile narratives of his long phrases (a knack probably polished during his rapping days with CHC), the visual imagery, the mix of lighthearted humor, literary playfulness (exploring the multiple meanings or possible placing of words), with melancholy and sincerity. Like a good movie, or a 1-2-3 boxing combo that will knock you out every time: first it makes you laugh, then it makes your heart ache, and then you end up saying: that’s so true, that’s exactly how I feel!

"al vacío"
Good example of his melodic craft, of his fusion of a brit pop influence with latin american rock. The chorus apparently floats higher and higher with each turn, and I get a feeling that this is also a bit of a trademark. I’m beyond enjoyment, astounded by the moving depth of his words. It seems to talk to me about those really difficult moments (of emptiness or sadness) when you can do nothing other than let go, and hope that by surviving the fall you’ll come out wiser or stronger. But it’s not pathetic, the music is so upbeat and beautiful, it’s almost… happy. Don’t we love that contrast?

"hasta el final"
A catastrophic and existentialist list of everything that will (one day) cease to be. The punchline is Pedro saying: I understood all of that since I was a kid, but nobody told me what to do with the loneliness. There’s something of a benchmark like the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds here (in the vocal arrangement as much as in the philosophical musings). My favorite part is when the bass joins the drums on a lazy line that draws the circle Pedro’s singing about, the line that separates you from the distant world, that reminds you: you came alone and you are alone until the end.

"si somos salvajes"
Hot song! Great song! Mindblowing vocal harmonies (with help by Jorge González, frontman of classic Chilean rock band Los Prisioneros & more recently of Los Updates, and pretty much honorary musical ambassador for Chile in Mexico City)! Fantastic lyrics, they remind me of that old Soda Stereo song “entre caníbales” but I’d dare say this song (without losing any erotic prowess) is deeper, it has opted for a more narrative (than purely poetic) approach and (through a brilliant use of irony and sense of humor) it’s bigger, badder and more fun. Not just a relationships/romantic song. No one leaves this one without a scratch. But we’ve been warned (or is it adviced?) If we’re wild, let’s be so at all times and at all places. “También el presidente y el santo arrastran los pies como tú y yo, las lecciones que nos van dejando no sirven de nada en el mundo.” Heavy stuff! Dirty stuff! One of my favorites.

"sol mayor"
I swear I see the sun, the waves and the beach when I listen to the intro (even though the title could also refer to the key of G major… & just in case you were curious: the song is actually on the key of A major). This warm, easygoing tune might be the best song off the album. It could even be one of the best in Andrés Calamaro’s repertoire, but I think Pedro dares to draw a much more raw, naked and bittersweet picture of human nature and relationships than Andrés would. This one has brought me close to tears more than once. Beautiful.

"historias de terror"
Isn’t it incredible how some specific musical harmonies can make us feel spooky or imagine ghosts, Halloween stuff etc? This song has that combined with a childlike bounce that makes it sound almost like a half-joking-song… but if you pay close attention, its lyrics are some of the most serious in the album; they poetically bring to the table all of our historic true horror stories: war, shameful crimes that go unpunished, (and it’s awful to think such a thing can become normal to many in so many countries –el pan de cada día) like the dead women in Juárez, like all the violations to human rights during Pinochet’s military regime or like those disappeared ones that “Las madres de la plaza de mayo” still mourn. We don’t want to keep on eating that daily bread.

"soy el ring"
I doubt there’s another song that deals with the presence of the light and the shadow within (personified as God & the Devil) that can make you laugh so hard. The way it evolves and flows from beginning to end, I can’t believe it’s not butter. And I love how much you can feel he enjoys singing.

"mi mama"
A brief, upbeat, early Beatles reminiscing ditty that joyfully tells the story of some ghostly visits that a dead mother’s been paying the narrator. It breaks my heart how he asks her, like a child: why did you have to go and die? And then he finishes the phrase with a lovely and enraged little curse: tonta.

"ayayayay"
This lament is the title of another sad song, a ballad in a ¾ meter (a walz) that dances everything away, a last goodbye. The irony is present in the chorus that sings “te vas te vas te vas te vas…” as if it were a corny melody for the Festival Oti, you can almost see José José back in 1970 wowing the audience with his rendition of “El triste” but that moment’s already gone as well.

"cuarto oscuro"
The poppiest of the songs. A gorgeous upbeat tune about… depression (or something like that, mixed with a chosen uncertainty). The main character is waiting in a dark room, like a photograph about to develop. Its tongue-twister delicious phrases are sweetened by the voice of Leon Polar (who,by the way, lent his studio for the recording of the whole album). This could be a 40 principales hit hidden within the album, but it’s not an odd-one-out; its gloomy wit makes it blend in perfectly.

"obrero mundial"
Guitars plucked in arpeggios that dance between the light and the dark weave the mood for lyrics as heavy as the chains of modern-day slaves (those who might never climb out of the marshes of poverty that our global economic systems are working dutifully at covering but not erasing)… amazing. Really amazing. I hadn’t heard new music that was so full of meaning in a long, long while.

♫♫♫ "Sol Mayor"
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