MADRE TIERRA

Flor de Loto's sophomore album finds the band heading for a more mature and more robust situation of their prog-folk style. With Pérez perfectly integrated in the band as a performer and writer and his remaining three partners reinforcing their nuclear input in a perfect communion with the woodwind sounds that go expanding all over the place, we who have seem them perform live throughout the last four years can really tell that their unity has been properly and faithfully translated into record. Flor de Loto is a well-oiled team whose stride is simultaneously led by Herrera and Pérez while being fulfilled by a versatile rhythm duo. The sound production has managed to instill some sort of eerie spirit into the band's sound, in this way producing a special flow that adds magic to the reperoire's musical power. Both the opening namesake track and 'El Charango Perdido' stand out as highlights of the album. The Andean woodwinds manage to alternate the ancient magic of Inca folklore and the tight demands of prog hard rock in its lines and textures, with the lead guitar serving as the ultimate accomplice in the succession and development of the musical ideas and harmonies. It is almost incredible, yet clearly noticeable how well the strong guitar interventions and the flaming woodwind elaborations set at unison the marriage of pre-Hispanic tradition and red hot complex rock. Meanwhile, drummer Jorge Puccini delivers a powerful foundation by using his relentless stamina to wipe out the dust of the ground and using his sense of precision to lay down the pace for the melodic developments. Bassist Alejandro Jarrín uses his inventive bass lines and adornments to set some sort of bridge between melody and tempo. So, it will be a hard road for the remaining repertoire that's still to be unveiled to our ears to keep up with the incendiary pace set by these two enormous tracks. But it does, really it does. 'El Mensajero' turns things more into a more candid ambience, with the flute and recorder alternately assuming the leading role in the display of the main melody - a beautiful track with a prominent evocative vibe that ends with a sustained climax. 'Danza Celta' finds the band creating a marriage of Iron Maiden and revamped Celtic folk (inspired by El Mago de Oz), while 'Andaluces' shows them exploring the realms of Flamenco based- rock fusion: they are far more successful on the former than on the latter. In between we find the beautiful introspective acoustic serenade 'Luz de Luna', based on the essence of Norht Argentina's folk. The combination of classical guitar arpeggios and flute is simply stunning in its clever simplicity, properly adorned by tasteful percussions. Later on we'll get a similar piece, only with an extra touch of melodic rock emerging for the last minute: I'm referring to 'La Ley de la Vida'. Yes, Flor de Loto show that they are equally proficient for their rockier numbers and for their "unplugged" ones. Somewhere in the middle stands 'Desapareciendo', a romantic semi-ballad with relatively abundant lyrics that includes a very energetic interlude. 'Antares' and 'Medusa' are the tracks in which Flor de Loto work on their Rush-meets-Maiden-meets-JT habit, both being amazingly successful regarding the creation of power, cadence and sophistication. 'Antares' includes some slight touches of funk to the mix, as well as a high-spirited thrash metal coda. My fave highlights are tracks 1, 2, 3, 7 & 10, but that doesn't mean that this album isn't cohesive as a whole. It is cohesive in its inventiveness and energy - "Madre Tierra" is an excellent prog item that confirms Flor de Loto as a world-class band in the current international prog scene.

In 2005 the Peruvian progressive folk rock formation Flor De Loto released their eponymous debut album. I was pleased with the blend of Andean flutes and rock with fiery guitars and dynamic drums. But in my opinion the songs sounded a bit too similar in the end. Listening to this successor entitled Madre Tierra (2007) I notice a huge progress in the ten compositions. From the very first moment we can enjoy the very distinctive, quite melancholical Andean flutes. The atmospheres range from dreamy with mellow flute and acoustic guitar to rock with fiery electric guitar and a propulsive rhythm-section. My highlights are Danza Celta (captivating contrast between sparkling flute traverse and raw guitar), Andaluces (great Andalucian climate with excellent work on flute and acoustic - and electric guitars and lots of dynamics) and the alternating La Ley De La Vida (strong echoes from Jethro Tull with heavy guitar, swirling flute traverse and bitin guitar solo in the final part). I am delighted about this captivating Flor De Loto sound evoking Los Jaivas (without keyboards) and bands like Jethro Tull and Focus, unique prog that deserves wider attention!

With their self-titled debut making some noise in the prog community, Flor de Loto would gather again for the making of a new album, which would develop further the style of their first work.Guitarist Alonso Herrera started working on his voice, while all members were given full freedom to compose their own songs, leading to a collection of tracks, from which the numbers of the so-named ''Madre tierra''would be chosen.The album was released in 2007 on Mylodon Records.

While there are plenty of similarities with the debut, ''Madre tierra'' is actually a different beast compared to its precursor.The loose jams from two years ago have been replaced by normal compositions with regular structures.Herrera displays his voice in some tracks for somesort of lyrical depth.The heavy moods have been a tad reduced, especially the first half of the album is a good example Andean Prog Folk with no particular electric explosions.Johnny Perez, who also offers some vocal parts, comes up with an exhibition of traditional instruments from the Peruvian land, wind instruments are always in evidence in different forms, like the zamponas or the pututo, and the background is an electric atmosphere of solos or decent leads.Other tracks offer a more rhythmic flute-based Rock Music with strong JETHRO TULL references, while the soft parts with the calm electric themes still obtain a nice psychedelic atmosphere.Second part follows a more heavy Folk/Fusion vein with good breaks and tempo changes and some furious guitar parts, which battle the sound of flutes in a very interesting way.Production is very clean, the mix is also professional and the balance between traditional and proggy/rockin' moods is extremely convincing.

Definitely a satisfying work of Latin-American Prog Rock with a deep sense of folky sensibilities straight out of Andean Music.Great and strongly recommended material...3.5 stars.