CALIFATO INDEPENDIENTE

1. "Tarantos del Califato Independiente" (20:46) a very long and drawn out intro which eventually culminates in some very nice HAWKWIND-like two-chord jazzy prog over which the electric guitarist and synth player take turns soloing with competency and Spanish-infused creativity. Too bad it took them seven minutes to get there! (Must be the effects of the hash.) At 9:40 there is a cymbal crash, stoppage, and reformulation to create a new motif that has a bit of a Reggae feel to it--though more of a GONG-like version of Reggae. At 11:40 there is a stoppage of keys and guitars as drummer and bass player begin a motif with some staccato syncopation played off and with one another. The rest of the band soon rejoins, continuing the staccato motif but quickly bringing a Moorish flavor to it--especially melodically. This turns Miles Davis Spanish in the fourteenth minute with the takeover of a synth horn in the lead. Then things break down into spacey/eerie synth and guitar textural sounds before bass and guitar begin forming a spacious nest for some organ and then vocalese (on two tracks). Very pleasant and relaxing. The vocalist (Iñaki Egaña) is very good! Around the 18-minute mark we return to full rock, albeit slow and atmospheric, for some nice electric guitar soloing from Manuel Rodrigue--which takes us pretty much to the end. This is definitely way more proggy than jazzy or jazz- rock fusion, despite its instrumental nature. It's a very nice construct. (36/40)

2. "Darshan" (8:30) a lush two-chord keyboard bed of wash that provide the comfortable backing for guitarist Manuel Rodrigue to solo. Then, four minutes into the song, there is a sudden shift in motif and tempo as Manuel slips into rhythm guitar role for Marcos Mantero to solo on his synth. The motif is blues but fast, like Country-Western, held down by some very solid drum and bass play. In the eighth minute things fall back into half time as the synth wash chords rejoin and the music plods along for some more guitar soloing. Proficient and disiplined soloing over some rather monotonous musics. They sound a little like 1990s NeoProg band KALABAN to me. (17.5/20)

3. "Cerro Alegre" (7:33) acoustic guitar solo opens before piano takes over. The rest of the band gradually joins in, figuring out their roles in the song, until finally shifting into a fully-planned motif with and harpsichord beneath some fiery electric guitar soloing. Another down-shift into a kind of mysterious spy-thriller soundtrack motif over which Marcos solos on his electric piano. When Manuel is given the lead again, the music is very thin, slow, and very synth washy, but his SANTANA-like solo is so clean and excellent it wouldn't matter what he was being accompanied by. Great stuff! More tempo and motif changes ensue for piano and Spanish themes to express. Wow! What a journey these guys just took me on! Worth many more listens. (14/15)

4. "Cancion de la Oruga" (5:32) the album's final song opens with some airy synth soloing over gently-picked acoustic guitars (multiple) before bassist Iñaki Egaña enters with his pleasant singing voice. There's a bit of a Renaissance "Trip to the Fair" feel to the chord and melody choices the band establishes after Iñaki's first verse (almost as if it has been lifted directly from the Sheherazade album!). Even when the band goes instrumental and heavy on the percussion its still feels like I'm listening to the creepy, eery parts of "Trip to the Fair," albeit a Spanish version. I have to admit, however, that the band has done a rather remarkable job of adapting this to their own instruments, language, and interpretation, thus, I'm going to give them credit and respect for the petit vol. (9/10)

Total Time: 42:21

An album that has some great musicianship if sometimes dull NeoProg foundations, I am very impressed with the band's dextrous and rather complete adoption of progressive rock forms and sounds.

B+/A-/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of jazz-infused progressive rock music.

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