Review Summary: The Mexican's come back with 11 new self-written compositions and end up showing us that they are still the real deal
Background: Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quinetro are two Mexican musicians, who used to play for a thrash metal band in Mexico City called "Tierra Ácida". After having enough of the trash metal and home scene limits they moved to Dublin where they practised, busked and played pubs to achieve their own unique blend of technically complex/progressive classical guitar playing.
The last time the duo went for an outing to the studio, they produced an album which took them to a whole new level; in sense of musical playability and fan count. It got so famous that it actually leaped on the Irish charts, pasting the Arctic monkeys and Johnny Cash to the numero uno spot; not to mention continuous appearances on MTV in the USA. So what do they have in store for us this time around?
Well to start off with 11:11 is a great album with an amazing vibe of its own, although it feels like a mixture between re-foc and their self titled last album.
The album starts off with “hanuman”, anyone who has ever heard any of their previous albums who notice in no time that they have changed the pace and rhythm timing, giving a faster and edgier feel to the play. Another apparent change is the strumming sequences which Gabriela (I love you!) uses, which now flows around Rodrigo’s and cuts through to show its own character and texture. The song flies by in seconds and we come across to second and probably the most heard of the album, “buster Voodoo”, in which Rodrigo shows us what he is really made out of; it starts off with the same varied pace as the hanuman, however the chops and rifts interchange timings, dividing inside the lead patterns which he is producing, the song comes to a point where Rodrigo starts playing through a wah/fuzz/flanger/god knows what pedal, it sings jimmy Hendrix.....
Other highlights of the album include “Master Maqui” inspired by paco de luca, "Lagos" which smells and reeks of Ad Di Moela gone cerebral and “Atman” which is composed for dimebag; the song also features Alex Skolnik from testament, who adds some zesty licks of his own. Then there is Savitri: adapted from John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussian’s ground breaking 1970’s world fusion band Shakti which varies throughout but still is ever present; with the additional background sounds of doors closing/opening, this is one of the major highlights of the album.
The only thing which I did find lacking in 11:11 that songs fly by but you never feel like going back to a single part/track of the album you really start craving for. Even though I have only heard it for a week’s time, the whole album is genuinely good, but does not have its huge moments as everything falls down flat as soon as each song gets over. However this could be due to the consistency of the whole album.
Apart from that mentioned above, this album demands your attention; it’s crafty, beautiful and has exceptional musicianship quality which cannot be compared to any other.
Recommended:
Savitri
hora zero
hanuman
buster voodoo
Also, try catching them live; you will not regret it.
