BLOPS [AKA: DEL VOLAR DE LAS PALOMAS]

The second eponymously titled BLOPS album (out of three) was released a year after the debut in 1971 when the band was living in a communal house known as Manchufela. Released on the Peña de la Familia Parra label during its first pressing, subsequent reissues on various other labels gave the album the secondary title DEL VOLAR DE LAS PALOMAS (From The Flight Of The Doves) and featured a concept of a day in the life of an average person. The LP was divided into two sides: "Mañana" and "Tarde" and the album which featured an idyllic pastoral setting in some utopian setting was much more based in traditional folk sounds than the debut album from the previous year.

While the same five band members were playing their classical guitar based folk music with the addition of flutes, piano, accordion, bass and drums, album #2 also featured a few guest musicians that add cello and violin. Producer Ángel Parra also steps in and collaborates on guitar and lead vocals. The album offered a wider spectrum of sound than the debut and also delivered more moments of electric guitar as well as a stronger orchestral backing although overall the album seems a lot mellower than its predecessor with only the occasional more upbeat track such as "La Rodandera."

The songs are very melodic and more or less are considered psychedelic folk which was quite en vogue during the early 1970s. The atmosphere is a bit on the melancholic side and the vocals are a bit more diverse than the rather straight forward debut. What's missing on this second BLOPS album though are any of the progressive twists and turns that the debut offered. The music takes on a much richer Baroque flavor sounding a bit like traditional Spanish classical guitar classics with vocals for much of the albums run with its acoustic guitar arpeggios and classical guitar influences. The presence of the violin and cello though add a completely lugubrious element to the otherwise upbeat folk songs.

While considered one of the top three of 70s Chilean prog folk bands along with Los Jaivas and Congreso, the first two albums of BLOPS are unfortunately the weakest of the three bands lacking any creative stamp and simply adhering to traditional folk paradigms. While a few progressive touches are interwoven into the mix, BLOPS' first two albums are more standard and less experimental than other bands of the era even in Chile. It would take the coup d'etat of 1973 to inspire BLOPS to return with a more ambitious and passionately delivered album with its third eponymously titled album also known as "Locomotora" which is also known as the band's best album and legacy. As for this one, it's pleasant and all but unless you are moved by the lyrics presented in the Spanish language unfortunately musically it doesn't rise above average.