Review Summary: A regression into past ventures.
We have seen Omar dwell into the atmospheric realms of electronic music several times throughout his career. Of course, this venture into Electronica was thoroughly explored during his time in the Dub-Reggae act, De Facto, but his enthusiasm for the genre would often resurface in his solo albums. In Minor Cuts and Scrapes in the Bushes Ahead, we saw Omar taking the genre much more seriously, as synthesizers and other electronic soundscapes played a prominent role in the album. And though Minor Cuts and Scrapes in the Bushes Ahead contained its moments of cohesive songwriting, the project always felt more like an experiment with digital sounds than a conscious effort. After its release, Omar regressed back into his familiar style of Psychedelic rock for several albums, until unveiling his second attempt at Electronica years later in Tychozorente.
In Tychozorente we found Omar approaching Electronica with a different agenda. The album featured renowned Mexican singer, Ximena Sariñana, who helped direct the compositions of Tychozorente into a Pop-oriented orchestration. And now yet again, after several efforts and years later, Omar reveals his third electronic attempt, Un Corazón De Nadie. The only difference here is that Omar doesn't really bring anything new to the table. The album's opener, "Mono", delivers the familiar psychedelic ambience, but the instrumentation is much more restrained. "Mono" is driven by an almost melancholic sequence of sounds, it has a very simple beat which is an unusual approach for Omar as we have become used to hearing his usual dense layers of sound. But within its simplicity, there is a hypnotic vibe that is induced by the mellow sound of "Mono". Omar provides the vocals for the track, and his voice has an almost alluring quality to it that truly makes "Mono" the most eminent moment in Un Corazón De Nadie.
From our first impression with "Mono", we begin to think that Omar is reverting to the pop-oriented structure of Tychozorente in this album, while adding a much darker tone to the music- but that isn't quite the case. In fact, Omar is actually regressing into the similar approach taken in Minor Cuts and Scrapes in the Bushes Ahead as the two efforts share identical aesthetics. As we progress further into the album, we find that most of the tracks are comprised by immense layers of erratic soundscapes. "Tres" serves as the typical paradigm of the album. It is nothing more than an arrangement of psychedelic effects that serve no further purpose than to create a disorienting experience. And like, Minor Cuts and Scrapes in the Bushes Ahead, Un Corazón De Nadie does deliver its share of entertaining material, but because it doesn't explore any new techniques, it just feels like a reflection of past attempts. Which in the end, fails to produce a truly captivating experience.
