UN ESCORPIÓN PERFUMADO

Talking about Omar Rodriguez Lopez in the way I do is pretty funny to think about, because he's an artist that I really, really appreciate, but I rarely find any specific album of his to be outright amazing as a whole, more often than not having some absolutely standout tracks in a more inconsistent package as a whole. Because of all this, I end up thinking that it's awesome to get those albums by him that really are fantastic through and through, such as this one. In quite a few ways it feels like a bit of a back to basics time for him, with the Latin rock tinged psychedelic jamming being back in full effect, except this time it has an aesthetic that I'm even more of a fan of. The entire album feels as if it has these dark, murky undertones to it thanks to how heavy and distorted the bass and percussion feel. For each warm piece of imagery, you get this distinct sense of contrast with the way these lower end instruments completely change the soundscape that's being created, a feeling that's further increased with the other elements at play to make for one of the more dense albums ORL has made in his solo career. Songs like Mensaje Imputente also represent this sense of raw passion that hadn't quite been something focused on for a bit now, with these huge, climactic choruses and guitar work bringing forth a very strong sense of energy too. While the entire album is just full of highlights, the final two tracks especially take this to another level with the mix of jamming, this amped up prog rock song leading into this lengthy drum focused instrumental that continuously finds new ways to fall off the rails while also sounding like a perfect way for the album to end off in general. Overall just a very dense album with some of the tightest, most cohesive songwriting since Old Money, and while I'm not quite as into the atmosphere and aesthetic here compared to some of his more adventurous albums like Cryptomnesia, I also can't doubt that this is even a more well rounded album than that.