Lycanthropy has been a recurring topic in arts for ages; contemporary popular music isn’t an exception in that matter. Many musicians have approximated the well-known myth of the werewolf and wrote songs about it, whether it’s Michael Hurley’s folky cult favorite “Werewolf”, La Unión’s rock bar anthem “Lobo Hombre en París” or Shakira’s italo-disco hit “She Wolf”, a great number of artists over the time have shared with the world their view over this immortal legend through diverse stories. Torreblanca is the most recent act to be inspired by this figure in “Lobo”, first single from their upcoming release Bella Época, the follower to their much lauded impressive Defensa EP. Instantly appealing, featuring a stellar execution by the 5-piece band and a fascinating vocal performance by Juan Manuel Torreblanca, “Lobo” surely will raise expectations to the roof about Torrreblanca’s soon to be released new material.
It is very probable now onwards Torreblanca will be recognized like a full ensemble rather than simply a band led by Juan Manuel under his last name; this doesn’t mean they hadn’t proven this already in Defensa EP, yet there’s plenty of rich dynamism in the instruments used in “Lobo” where you can distinguish indubitably the contribution of every member in this project at their best; check out that immediately grabbing saxophone menacing opening, Andrea Balency’s dominion of accordion, the last blissful thirty seconds where the whole band double pace. Still Juan Manuel steals the show with his vocal delivery; he sounds agitated, even kinda sexy narrating his tale about new found freedom by looking into the moon to metamorphose during nights, converting this transformation exercise in his way out of daily social convention practices like religion and politics.