Bloque [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED]

Bloque

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 28, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Luaka Bop
• ASIN: B00004RD0R
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #296,325 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Indie Music > Latin Music > Rock en Espaņol

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The spirit of rock took a holiday from its American birthplace and paid a visit to the far-off terrain of the Colombian-born and -bred Bloque--only to find itself in a midlife crisis. And indeed, the genre couldn't find better comrades than this sophisticated musical battalion, named after the commando unit trained to track down Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. The main songwriting team of Ivan Benavides and Ernesto Ocampo have crafted a fine group of songs sung entirely in Spanish but possessing a musical multilingualism that should win over those que no lo entienden. Shades of postpunk art rock saturate the guitar textures of "Dano en el Bano" and "Sin Lagrimas," and they even rip off Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page for the opening lick of "Nena." Never absent, however, are the classic rhythms and vocal harmonies of traditional Latin music, updated innovatively and respectfully on postmodern sambas like "Majana" and "No Volvere." Most of us stateside may not recognize this rock when we see it again, but you always come back from the best trips a little changed, anyway. --Justin Hampton

USA Today
The Bogota, Colombia, collective's self-titled debut revitalizes the rock en espanol movement with a pummeling wall of sound that incorporates political venom, disco fever, rock-guitar distortion, snide humor and hip-hop beats.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars with energy, April 13, 2007

By	Joseph Geni (Evanston, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bloque (Audio CD)

I discovered Bloque because of a David Byrne article that mentioned them. The article was about how the idea of "world music" is silly, because a) how can you possibly lump all the world's music not from the US and UK into one category? and b) the idea of world music implies that there's "authenticity" in the traditional sound of a particular country, which should never change.

Bloque was mentioned in the article as a band that blows gaping holes in this view of things, and do they ever. This record is loud, brash, energetic, a delightful mish-mosh of disparate genres, and doesn't quite fit on any shelf of the music store but would be much more at home in the rock section than the "world" one. I don't know a word of Spanish so I've no idea what they're singing about but it doesn't matter. Music is music and it's good.

The one complaint I have with this record is that it sort of loses steam in the latter stages. I'm a big believer in albums, particularly debut albums, being shorter, not longer. Shave a couple tracks off the second half of this disc and it would get more spins in my player than it does. But the first half in particular is dynamite. Especially given how cheaply this is selling right now, I recommend that jump on that and get this disc.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent on a world class level, March 22, 2002

By A Customer

It's definitely Latin, but you can't limit it as such. There are elements of rock, blues, funk, hip hop, psychedelia, and a little bit of that andean flute to add a curiously soft edge to the harder grooves. But don't think that they're trying to cover too many styles--they're not. Amazingly enough, they pull it off and these incredibly varied songs seem to flow seamlessly. And if you listen to it and think that you like some songs less than others...give those songs a second try. You will discover something different about each song each time you listen.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Fusion of Cumbia and Rock en Espanol, August 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bloque (Audio CD)

I was pleased to discover this band when my own group (Babaloo) was booked to open for them. They manage to take the energy of rocknroll and dispense with the cliched rock rhythms that caused me to first explore Latin music. The vocals are terrific and ensemble work is amazing, creating atmospheric space one moment, a powerful thundering the next, and an wonderful interweaving of parts on their salsa outings. Note that they have the courage to doo all of these in the same song. A special treat is their beautiful reinterpretation of the Peregoyo Y Su Combo Vacana classic, "La Pluma," that paying tribute to their predecessors on the Columbian music scene all while presenting their own unique vision.