ALUX NAHUAL

This is a band not many people have heard of (I originally found it on a Wikipedia list of prog rock acts), though they played an enormous role in Central America's rock scene in the 80s and onward. Alux Nahual, formed in 1979 by the brothers Plubio and Alvaro Aguilar (on bass guitar and lead vocals/guitar respectively), might be the most important rock act to come out of the small Central American country of Guatemala. Two big reasons they stole people's hearts are the fact that they produced rock sung in the country's native language Spanish which was unusual for the region's music scene at the time, and that their lyrics were very relatable for the country's inhabitants for the time, being tinged with Latin American political and social themes. Interestingly, they had their commercial peak well into their career, playing at a sold-out concert in Los Angeles in 1995.

Their roots are in progressive rock, making use of instruments such as violin, cello and flute and implementing folk elements in their early works. The group originally performed with songs from bands such as Kansas, Led Zeppelin and Toto (you will hear the Kansas influences in their early releases). They moved on to a more straightforward, arena rock-based sound in the late 80s, but continued to be a very important music act in Central America nevertheless. Anyway, let me begin on the album.

The first half of the 80s was not a good time for prog rock in general. Many of the classic prog bands had more or less successfully moved on to pop, or they had broken up entirely. However, that was when the humble little band Alux Nahual from a hidden corner of the world entered the arena with their self-titled debut, in 1981. It never really took off commercially since the local radio stations deemed the songs unfit for playing, so the album had to be spread by mouth. Yet to this day, it remains a hidden gem of progressive rock, which is a real shame since it is arguably a real masterpiece which deserves to be listened to, part of the reason why I am writing this review.

First, let me talk about the album's sound. As I wrote in the third paragraph, Alux Nahual's sound has influences from Kansas, which is especially evident in the heavy use of string instruments such as the violin and the cello The acoustic guitar is an important element, adding elements of folk music to the overall sound. When I listen to music, I do not always think too much about the bass guitar, but this is a special case; instead of creating a foundation for the rest of the song, the bass sounds very melodic and does not hide in the background, which helps create a very bright, upbeat sound. The drums give the sound another Latin American touch, with the toms sounding high-pitched and dull, almost like congas. The band tends to switch between very energetic and balladic playing between songs, creating good contrasts through the entire album. The sound is not overly polished; sometimes the instruments are not perfectly in sync, and sometimes the tempo even changes a few BPM, all resulting in a very raw, genuine sound.

Let me move on to the actual songs. The album commences with the energetic, symphonic instrumental piece "Cola de Golondrina" (3:57), built around a reoccuring violin melody and a hard-slapping bass tune. The song gets enriched by the acoustic guitar duet starting about one third into the track. It even features two wild guitar solos in the second half of the song, adding another touch of rock to the otherwise symphonic and folky song. Overall, a great introduction to a great album by a great band.

The second song, A Ti (4:05), begins more laid-back, sounding much like a love song (the title even meant "to you"). A violin accompanied by a cello plays a delightful, balladic melody over a rhythmic but mellow acoustic guitar riff. The harmonies in the choruses really help bring out the romantic feeling from the song. The tempo increases after two and a half minutes, and slows down in the outro after yet another minute. The song stands amazingly against the more lively opening track, but is also simply an amazing song on its own.

Un Poco De Paz (3:19) is another pretty calm song (even the name apparently means "a little peace") which sticks to the same flow and feeling throughout the entire song, like a tranquil beach with waves slowly rolling up on the sand. The string work, acoustic guitar and slow tempo puts this song in ballad territory, however, the rhythmic arrangements keep themselves in the foreground a lot. A great song regardless of what you want to call it.

Un Minuto de Ilusión (7:19) might be the proggiest track on the entire album, spanning over 7 minutes and frequently switching between mood and tempo. First, you have a soothing piano intro getting accompanied by a cello around the one minute mark, and half a minute later the tempo and energy increases and all the other instruments join in. You can say the actual song begins at around 2:15, at which moment the song's energy decreases, with the vocals coming in twenty seconds later. This part of the song lasts until the four minute mark, where the song becomes very energetic again, a mood that will last for the rest of the track. I could not talk about this song without praising the amazing bass solo coming in at 5:53, or the brief drum solo in the end as the cherry on top. I would call this song a highlight on the album and a perfect finisher of the A-side.

The B-side is opened up by the soothing "La Fabula del Grillo y el Mar" (5:57). The title means "the tale of the cricket and the sea" (according to Google Translate), and the reason I bring this up is that you hear a cricket singing and the sounds of crashing waves making the acoustic guitar company in the intro. This helps set the mood for the song, sounding incredibly romantic throughout its whole duration. Its feeling revolves a lot around the aforementioned acoustic guitar as well as the atmospheric string arrangements and the beautiful vocals. Judging by its mood, I expected it to be a love song before I knew what the title and lyrics meant. Putting the lyrics through Google Translate made me appreciate the song even more, revealing it to be what I assume is a political allegory represented with a cricket singing to the sea but getting no reaction from it. Lastly, I heavily recommend checking out the symphonic live version of the song on Youtube.

"Posada" (4:07) is in a similar case as "Un Poco De Paz", with a slow tempo and mellow melodies but with a drum arrangement that takes up a lot of space. That is, though, the part that I love the very most about the song, especially the heavy use of cowbells gives the song a big Latino touch. I also have to appreciate the acoustic guitar solo over a 4/7 beat in the second half of the song.

The closer "Hombres de Maíz" (7:23) might just be the best song on the entire album, which I say even after calling every other song amazing. It masterfully ties the sack together with very energetic and upbeat compositions almost impossible not to dance to. From the sections of intense strumming on the guitar to the rich percussion and the vocals, it is really hard to pick what I love the most about the song. Out of curiosity, I gave the lyrics the Google Translate treatment and discovered another brilliant side of the song I would have not paid attention to otherwise. The lyrics seem to be about living a life without a care for the government or the air pollution and instead appreciating the simple things about life. The title which means "Men of corn" might be a reference to the Mayan myth about the gods creating humans out of corn, which is very relevant to the band's Guatemalan origins. And that concludes Alux Nahual's debut album.

To finish off the review, as I said before, part of the reason why I am writing it in the first place is to make it more known about. I am very glad I discovered it myself, even more so for the fact that a pretty obscure album made it to the top 15 list of my all time favorite albums. If you like bands like Kansas and Jethro Tull, this album is an absolute must, and if you like it, you should check out their follow-up "Conquista" and the following two albums (if you can find them, they are sadly not available on Spotify). They never stopped making good music though, and I recommend checking out their non-prog material such as "Alto al Fuego".

10/10.

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