Customer Reviews

Esqueletos

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A melancholic and moody mix of the darker side of alt. country and more traditional Latin/Spanish-inspired compositions, featuring stand-up bass, guitar, banjo, violin, drums (as well as organ, accordion, Jew's harp and other unnamed instruments?), and showcasing accomplished and versatile female vocals in both Spanish and English.

Robert Ferbrache (Sixteen Horsepower, Slim Cesna's Auto Club, Blood Axis, et cetera) acts as guitarist, producer and recording engineer on this release, and in so doing, gives this recording the sort of full-rage compositional complexity and perfectionism to be expected from a band featuring such a renowned studio engineer in its lineup.

Fans of Neko Case, Mazzy Star, Elysian Feilds, Calexico, Sixteen Horsepower, Devotchka (and even Pink Martini) will all find something to enjoy here.

I loved this record. The singer has a haunting melancholic voice and the musicianship is first rate, Perhaps comparing this to a spanish language Mazzy Starr gives the reader an idea, but I have little else in my collection that sounds similar to this. I don't need to know the Spanish really but go back and forth with my mind between guitar and voice, marvelling at the simple beauty of this recording.

Tarantella's "Esqueletos" is a pretty unique album - it blends together elements of European, Spanish and indie rock that gives it an interesting sound. The production is pretty well done - everything is crystal clear and you can make out all the instruments. The only "questionable" part is the singer who's definitely pretty good, but she might turn a couple people off. I'm not sure who else to compare her with. Lyrically most of the songs are sung in Spanish, so I have no idea what's being said. Most of the songs are kind've catchy and feature some interesting not-used-that-much instruments (there's a banjo in a couple songs - "Bonus Track 1" is a very fun and dancable song). I would say that a band who sounds most similar to Tarantella is The Decemberists (minus all that 18th century Europe talk). It sounds like a polka dance album at times (it's definitely dancy in spots - "Dark Horse", for example). It's not for everyone, but for those with an open mind this album is pretty good! Recommended.

Highlights include:
"A Chi Sa Dove Sara"
"Dark Horse"
"Elder Tree"
"Mexican Wine"
"Bonus Track 1"
"Bonus Track 2"
the rest are usually pretty decent