|
| |
|
|
|
Review Summary: Sonido de la Frontera dares you not to move when Sonidero Guerrillero is blasting in the speakers. Given the melancholic times we find ourselves in, it’s always good to wind down on something fun and wholesome from time to time. Enter – Sonido de la Frontera’s new album, Sonidero Guerrillero, a record absolutely brimming with vitality and felicity. In fact, I’ll put it out there right now and say this is one of the most energetic albums I’ve heard in 2021. Sonidero Guerrillero is centred around Latin America’s most popular style of dance music: Cumbia. The end product is something very new to me, but it has a level of energy very few albums are able to emit in the same way. The record is acutely focused on rhythm, using busy basslines as the centrepiece for tracks. The aesthetic is so palpable and vivid, delivering an authenticity unlike anything else; the grooves are as cool as ice, but the vibe behind everything else is as hot as the desert sun. Songs like “Cumbia de la Frontera”,” Galaxia” and “Si Queieres Mas (Ft El Chevy)” have these fantastic elasticated bass grooves that sit under rattling percussive instruments, while Karlos Paez uses his free-spirited disposition to form these sassy vocal parts that ride on top of these sashaying tunes.
“Cumbia de la Frontera” in particular is a fantastic opener and serves to set the tone thereafter, but generally, Sonidero Guerrillero has an astute understanding on how to straddle strong melodies with body-moving grooves in a way that’s surprisingly accessible. The production is excellent and digs deep into making songs feel intricate and multi-layered, with plenty of busy electronics filling out the space without being overbearing, allowing the rhythm and melodies to take the spotlight. If there were any negatives pertaining to Sonidero Guerrillero, it would be that it’s a little bloated, and some of the tracks, namely “Cumbia Pacifica Del Mar” and “La Lucha Continua”, feel middling, lacking in the same staying power and panache songs like “Si Queieres Mas (Ft El Chevy)” and “Zopilote” have behind them. Yet the fact remains, this is a bloody fun album to listen to. If you’re looking for a high-octane, groove-based album with a big sound, cool vocal work, and a penchant for undeniable booty-shaking-rhythms, Sonido de la Frontera has got you covered.
|
Great review, interesting stuff, bookmarked for listening in the immediate future.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
thanks voivod.
this is definitely out of my comfort zone, but it's a really, really fun album to jam.
| | |
Loving the shorter form reviews hitting the queue recently. Nice work!
| | |
You review THIS but not the last album of Cafe Tacvba? GOD I LOVE THIS SITE
| | |
cumbia is fucking dope, that linked track sounds great
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
thanks noc
yeah, def check this peeps, it's a great record
| | |
funny to see anglophones liking cumbia when in latin america it has lacked any respect as a decent music genre for decades now
| | |
una reseña de un album de cumbia? en MI sputnikmusic?
| | |
"funny to see anglophones liking cumbia when in latin america it has lacked any respect as a decent music genre for decades now"
I don't think that's the case, least not in Mexico, there's plenty of great acts in the mainstream that are well respected, also this shit gets played at literally every single wedding most of the time ignoring any type of socioeconomic spectrum
if we're talking about Argentina idk I think that's a different case
| | |
"I don't think that's the case, least not in Mexico, there's plenty of great acts in the mainstream that are well respected, also this shit gets played at literally every single wedding most of the time ignoring any type of socioeconomic spectrum
if we're talking about Argentina idk I think that's a different case"
I'm not from Argentina though lol. And yeah, cumbia is popular, extremly popular, played at every party and stuff, but the genre is not seen as something interesting musically speaking as it was decades ago when it had variety in its sound.
Cumbia nowadays is on the same category as reggaeton, bachata or latin trap. Extremly popular numbing party music with the same repetitive sounds over and over again. Nothing but a shell of what used to be years ago. The bands that play cumbia in an interesting way and not as just mindless commercial nonsense tend to be relegated to niche markets while the popular ones (which are a lot) are the ones that stick to a basic, boring and monotonous style of "just another party song" kind of shit. 99% of cumbia bands fall into this category nowadays
| | |
i think the most interesting thing coming from cumbia and latinoamerican traditional music is from the reinterpretation made by underground electronic producers and DJ's. When it meets reggae, afrobeat, and other stuff, there's a lot of interesting music coming from brazi, argentina, venezuela, europe and US communities too. But this? is kinda boring, samey... Cool that y'all like, tho.
| | |
"i think the most interesting thing coming from cumbia and latinoamerican traditional music is from the reinterpretation made by underground electronic producers and DJ's. When it meets reggae, afrobeat, and other stuff, there's a lot of interesting music coming from brazi, argentina, venezuela, europe and US communities too. But this? is kinda boring, samey... Cool that y'all like, tho."
Indeed, and it works great. They take the influence of latin genres like old school cumbia, merengue, salsa, boleros, etc, etc and use them as great source of freshness for electronic music since americans and europeans aren't used to those sounds. Cumbia can be great, but most of it is nothing but a soulless product nowadays.
Here's some cool cumbia that manosg sent me a couple of weeks ago if you guys are interested: https://youtu.be/IhgnxSSc8gQ
I haven't checked the album from this review though, I don't know in which category of cumbia it would fall, my comments are just general speaking of the situation the style has faced for many years now
| | |
| |
