ERROR

Argentinian avat-rock prodigy band Las Orejas y la Lengua gave a peculiar titile to their sophomore album, "Error": it means 'mistake' in Spanish, but let me tell you from stage one that this album is the opposite of a mistake, it is more an inspired accomplishment in versatile, adventurous music not deprived of dynamics nor captivating colorfulness. Besides the title, another paradox is the fact that this album was conceived when the band was undergoing its most severe crisis (defections in the line-up and a certain loss of momentary cohesion between the remaining members) and recorded when the band had just decided to move on. Yet, the display of energy and inventiveness as comprised in the album's repertoire reveals a band full of strength and stamina. The band's sound, in many ways, follows the trend initiated in the debut album, particularly the taste for combining jazz-rock, RIO and fusion in a mysteriously ethereal sonic whole. One thing for sure, he fusion aspect has been a bit diminished, since the departed guitarist was the mai nresponsible for the infusion of tango-inspired textures in some of the first album's tracks. Bassist Nicolás Diab added guitar duties in teh album, mostly providing rhythmic adornments more related to teh standardized sonorities of post-rock and experimental pop-rock than to fusion. There is also a noticeable amount of dense, spacey elements in the keyboard input all throughout the album, which leads the band to flirt ostensibly with krautrock in places. So, all in all, this albums happens to become as colorful as the debut, but in a compeletly differente direction, concentrating the colors in order to priorize density and mystery, not making them expand themselves so much. It looks as if this music had been designed to reflect the melancholy and struggle that the band had to face during the recent crisis: in perspective the, as a finished product, listening to this album could be the soundtrack to a catharsis necessary to face a new time. New flutist Diego Suárez, while not appearing on all tracks, has definitely become a major force in the band (having previously been a guest session musician for th debut album's bonus track). So, how is the repertoire per se? The album kicks off quite playfully with 'Eufórico Tribilín', with the flute assuming the leading role for the whole quartet in a folly mixture of old-fashioned Canterbury and Art Bears. A very similar vein is pursed by the following track 'Suricata', with the jazz factor being enhanced enough as to allow the musicians expand the most improvisational segments without losing a single inch of focus on the development of the main themes. In many ways, this track incarnates what RIO would be if it had augmented humor and only a slight dose of somber vibe - a highlight, indeed. 'Leandra' is a relatively short travel through calmer ambiences, based on the interaction between bandora and soft electric guitar, with the whole ensemble minus flute keeping pertinent pace with the track's languid nature. So, no room for experimentation here? Well, yes... in the shape of light dissonances somewhere in the middle: this track would certainly have fit in the quietest parts of a Faust or Neu! album. 'Norma' persists in this thread of languid melancholy with more noise, creating a moderately disturbign hybrid of Cocteau Twins, Art Bears and Sonic Youth. While not being patently impressive, it is in a more subtle level. 'Verónica G.' (which I assume as dedicated to the memory of Veronia Guerin) sets a crossroad between your regular post-rock and Scandinavian school retro-prog: its features synth layers create a foggy, dreamy atmosphere, while the rhythm section builds a properly delicate scheme for the track's development. The flute lines, well, they're simply magical, almost surreal. 'Hermanas Colgantes' will follow a similar style, keeping the eerie and increasing the tension in some selected segments, which gives more room for the flute to elaborate its lines. 'Ahora Sí, Chau' has a duet of mandola and bandora complemented by somber, minimalistic synth layers in the background... and ultimately, a ping-pong ball: talking about the influence of futuristic chamber in LOYLL's here's a powerful proof of that. 'Disposable Blood Oxigenator' is a sort of compilation of the combined spirits of tracks 3, 4 and 7. 'La Autopsia de Sandoval' is a sequel of a track from the debut album, retaking one of its main motifs and giving it extra brightness with the added new themes: this track bears a similar spirit to that comprised in the album's first two tracks, revealing once again that one of these guys' forte is to mutually create "disorganized" freedom without falling into chaos. The closure 'Córdoba, Óscar' is a cryptic exercise on krautrock-meets-post-rock jamming, combined with samples of people saying Córdoba's name and their own. The processed sounds of piccolo add a weri peculiarity to the surrealistic overall ambience. I interpret this trick as a celebration of the individual not getting lost in a multitude that they're part of. I would also regard this sentence as a definition of what LOYLL is all about: group creation with uncompromised respect for the random individual input yet, in some magical way, focused and engineered. "Error" is a masterpiece-quality gem of contemporary experimental rock, and I regard it as a prog- rock gem... and Idon't care if the musicians involved more or less hate the 'prog' word...

Las Orejas y La Lengua struck a balance somewhere between fusion, post-rock, ambient, and avant-prog in their time, and "Error" stands as a testament to the wonders the band was able to achieve. Think of this as Relaxation In Opposition, if you will. Even with the use of strange and unique instruments and often complex time signatures, most of "Error" is smooth, ethereal, and calming music of the highest order. Their avant leanings really pay off in their use of samples and the earlier mentioned unique instruments; a ping pong ball ends up counting as an instrument here, it works, and I wish they had credited the "player", like Julian Koster getting credit for using white noise. I simply cannot get enough of the track "Veronica G.", where the aforementioned techniques pay off to maximum effect, for a beautiful piece of post-RIO that includes flute and ends with a sample in the vein of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, or Wilco's use of one at the end of their "Poor Places". On top of that, they round out their sound by doubling back onto the more crazed and harsh corners of avant-prog, achieving in tracks like "Norma" truly exhilarating and frightful effects by suddenly crashing into storms from the calm via sometimes metallic sounds. Probably the most unique piece of relaxing music, with nary an error to be found, this belongs alongside the classics of post-rock and ambient and so much more.