Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mexico's best kept secret, March 14, 2006
If you've heard about 'Rock in Espanyol' you've probably heard the same 5 names, all of them bands promoted by major labels. I had the chance of listening to LA BARRANCA play this show live and you can quickly tell why the majors can't handle THIS much music.
This guys have the same broad palette as Los Lobos (both bands feature 2 incredible guitar players) but this album focuses on the grittier side since the cd was recorded 'live at the studio' (something less and less bands can acomplish nowadays). So, imagining a charged up Lobos' KIKO is somehow a way to describe this album.
As in Los Lobos, with the lyrics you get a Dylanesque portrait of Mexico and with the music you get a real fusion of latin and rockin' sounds instead of the current cut'n'pasted latin pop. No wonder this guys have worked outside the latin mainstream. The band has been around for more than ten years and the chemistry between them shows, they're all marvelous players and we're talking here about taste, not speed (it would be cool to put out a dvd of a complete live show... this cd has a bonus track and bonus video by the way).
One of these songs should someday become a 'hit single' and expose this guys to a bigger number of listeners... maybe on a soundtrack... THIS much music deserves it.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful band who deserve a wider audience, March 18, 2006
La Barranca has been a successful ongoing outfit for about 10 years now. Based in Mexico City, they are led by guitarist and songwriter Jose Manuel Aguilera, who previously and concurrently worked with Sangre Azteka, Jaguares, Cecilia Toussaint, Steven Brown/Nine Rain (Tuxedomoon), and more. He has an unusually economical style of playing that concentrates on great rhythms, superb tone, and very melodic solos. This 2nd edition of the band includes Santa Sabina guitar virtuoso Alex Otaola and the extremely flexible rhythm section of Jose Maria and Alonso Arreola. The band effortlessly moves from flat out rock to fusion-ish jamming and passes through a kind of Mexican folk influence along the way. Aguilera is a good singer with a talent for finding simple melodies amidst rather complex songs. On "El Fluir" the band decided to record live and to cut back on the keyboard and programmed additions to their music. Surprisingly, the result is not an over-the-top jamfest but rather a very tightly arranged set of songs that hint at the overwhelming power they will posess in concert. As always, the two guitar interplay between Aguilera and Otaola is not to be missed as they exhaust all forms of playing together and against one another (with Otaola pulling all sorts of radical sounds out of his guitar). "El Fluir" is their first US release since "Tempestad" in 1998. This edition is further sweetened by the inclusion of a previously unreleased bonus track and a video for the first single "Para de Sufrir."
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Magnificent, March 15, 2006
After five incredible albums and one maxi single and with 10 years with this concept, "La Barranca" presents to North American listeners their latest album, "El fluir", originally released in Mexico last year.
For every album, the band always tries to come up with a concept or a main idea to describe the whole project (Take for example "Tempestad", an album in which all songs were somehow related to the tempest and the sea); for this album all music for it was recorded live on studio, with the four musicians playing live, hence the name "El fluir" (which refers to the flow of music in this case) After many changes in their alignment, it was for Denzura that Jose Manuel (guitar virtuoso with years of experience and a very impressive resume), Alejandro Otaola (another great guitar performer), JoseMa (in the drums) and Alonso Arreola (an awesome and charismatic bass performer) recorded their first album together and remain as the best alignment of the band so far (after Denzura came "Cielo protector" and now "El fluir"). The way these four artists have fit with one another is just unbelievable when you see them playing on stage.
From the very opening of the album you will be dazzled, "Dormir sin miedo" opens the album abruptly and does not prepare you for what you are about to listen. Then we have "El fluir" which gives name to the album, an strident rock theme with a haunting rhythm and guitar riffs throughout the song. Then comes "Zafiro" as a homage to our dear Toņa la negra, in which Jose Manuel Aguilera shows us all what he's made of, the feeling with which he sings and his powerful voice make this song one of the highlights of the album. "Ser un destello" is in my opinion the most representative song of this album, heavy, perfectly executed by the 4 members and again, Aguilera performs incredibly in this song. "El cinturon de Orion" is another highlight in which the drums and the guitars are the stars of the song (check it out for an amazing guitar laughing). And then we have "Hendrix", a great song that per the band's comments served as an excuse to perform as Hendrix did, the musical arrangement at the end of the song is just incredible (when live, they add "Purple Haze" to this portion of the song)
Bottom line, 12 incredible songs from what I consider the best Mexican rock and roll band, these are great musicians true to their ideas and concepts. If you are a music fan this is an album you just cannot miss. The NA edition contains an extra track (El Asombro) I have not had the pleasure of listening as well as the video for "Pare de sufrir" which was the fist single released. If you enjoy this album I would very much recommend listening to Denzura which is a very similar album in certain ways but in a more experimental fashion. Though in my humble opinion the best album so far is still their debut album "El fuego de la noche" recorded 10 years ago, every time the band plays it in concert is still unbelievable even tough they have made new arrangements.
An excellent opportunity for you all in the US to listen to this band, a great album indeed that will make you want to own the rest of their discography.
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by La Barranca 
