Argentinean post-hardcore outfit Iniciativa Del Cambio know a thing or two about obscurity. For starters, their fan base lies solely in Spanish speaking nations. Unless one is a Spanish speaker, finding any morsel of information is nigh impossible. From their Myspace to Facebook, little information is to be found about the band. A very, very minuscule bio, and a few pictures are all that is to be found of the band. It’s almost as if the band never existed. But the band’s seemingly non-existent status is its greatest asset. You see, Iniciativa del Cambio are incredibly raw. Everything from the vocals to the production just sounds so abrasive. The band is fairly rough around the edges in terms of sound, and the raw sound only helps everything that the band is doing right.
Yet stylization and feeling will only get you so far. On "Abril", Iniciativa del Cambio play an amalgamation of hardcore, post-hardcore, and metalcore. Needless to say, it’s a very “core” filled album, with all the bells and whistles so typical of each genre. The band utilizes every aspect of the respective genres that have been done to death over the years. The exuberance is genuine, but the creativity is not. Unvaried screams accompanied by a much distorted guitar, all kept in check by some all too common drum work. Yes, the band is that unique. And unfortunately, the songs themselves offer little in the way of variation. The vocals grate and pummle throughout while the rest of the band pounds away, all leading up to the end of whatever song they are playing. And really, the songs themselves simply run into one another, stylistically and musically being completely homogeneous. I personally sat in a daze as the album played itself out, not really paying attention to the passing songs. I took repeated listens to realize that this wasn't entirely my fault, but rather, it was the band's for their inability to grab even a segment of my attention.
"Abril" is incredibly fierce, yet somehow incredibly harmless. There is truly very little else the band has to offer. The energy is so prevalent and palpable, that one can almost forgive the band for being boring one to tears. They care, that much is obvious. However, after the final strums of distorted guitar fade from your headphones, it’s not likely that you will.
