AVENIDA LARCO

For more than twenty years, Frágil has been and continues to be the most prominent progressive band in the rather wane Peruvian rock scene, though their musical production per se has been quite inconsistent. Having started their musical career as a Yes/Genesis/Focus cover band in the mid 70's, the band learned to forge and foster their own symphonic style while writing their own material, which resulted in pure prog symphonic seasoned with diverse South American folk and acoustic touches. During their seminal years, the band earned an ever increasing number of devoted fans, who were mesmerized by the charisma and theatrical personality of lead vocalist Andrés Dulude. He also wrote almost all the lyrics, which usually dealt with social issues and introspective matters. The other members were: Octavio Castillo on keyboards, flute, steel guitar, mandolin and vocals; César Bustamante on bass, additional keyboards and vocals; Luis Valderrama on lead, acoustic and classical guitars; and Arturo Creamer on drums and percussion - all of them working together effectively as a well oiled ensemble. Of course, the presence of solos on guitar, synth and flute was here and there, but the general norm was to keep the ensemble working as a musical unit. Their melodic sense may remind the listener of classic Genesis and Yes, having some clear coincidences with the typical melodic sensibility of Italian bands (Locanda delle Fate) or Argentinian (Espíritu). This line-up released their first album Avenida Larco in 1981, being very well received both by fans and critics. Numbers like "Oda al Tulipán", "Mundo Raro", "Pastas, Pepas y Otros Postres", "Hombres Solos" and the title track were specially featured in their repertoire. "Oda al Tulipán" and "Obertura" are the mos ambitious compositions in the album, while "Pastas, Pepas...", "Esto es Iluminación", "Hombres Solos" and the title track (their most popular song so far, after almost 25 years) portray a healthy combination of prog elegance and catchy melodic lines. Both "Floral" (their first song) and "Mundo Raro" show the most sensitive side of the band, with those eerie synth sounds and rhythm acoustic guitars in the background delivering a proper sonic landscape for Dulude's emotional singing. The instrumental "Lizy" is sheer beauty, with Castillo handling his flute parts with mesmerizaing delicacy. The closing track "Le Dicen Rock" is mainly a rockn'roll number with some hints of sophistication, single material indeed (and the second single A-side it was): it serves as a funny ending for an album that has a high level of seriousness in the remaining repertoire. The album as a whole exhibited the best musical qualities of the band, as described in the first lines of this review: 'Avenida Larco' stands out as one of the most beautiful prog recordings in the history os South American rock.