ENJAMBRE SISMICO

With their third album, the Chilean band Abrete Gandul are now signed to the superb Italian label AltrOck with its roster of forward-thinking, experimental and progressive bands (this album is on Fading Records, a division of AltrOck). Hopefully, this will give this talented instrumental progressive rock band their much-deserved exposure.

Much like their fellow label mates, they too create music that is informed by various sources and styles, and use that to create their own sound. This album is wonderfully produced, every instrument is heard clearly and the sound crisp.

This in turn allows the listener to appreciate the musicianship demonstrated here. In fact, I think I found a new favourite drummer. The drumming is of high caliber throughout the album. Drummer Antonio Arceu is pouring his guts here, going in various directions, and being more than just a meter counter for the band. He creates rhythms and patterns that elevate the pieces. Arceu's drumming is perfectly suited for the band's dynamics as he goes from full on complex blasting to subtle percussion work when the song requires it. Jaime Acuna on keyboards provides the tunes their much-needed layering and vibe. With his keyboards, he not only paints the music with the accompanying notes and chords but also with cool sound effects. Pedro Santander's bass is heavy and gruff sounding, but played in a groovy manner. Rodrigo Maccioni's guitar changes from delicate to forceful and assertive and gives the determining tone to the music. His effects are a great addition to the tracks, as they take them a notch higher. His flute playing is also of note and it softens a bit the hard edge of this album (as is evident in Colapso). Leo Arias' (Akineton Retard) saxophone work in the three pieces he plays in (particularly his long solo in Consecuencia Natural) is a joy t listen to.

Their music is jazzy, dynamic and aggressive. It is intricate and always on the move, always striving and pushing forward. Even in slower parts such as in the opening of Marejada, there is not much lingering about as the tune quickly picks up pace and moves on naturally to the next segment. Abrete Gandul don't like being stagnant for too long. They keep galloping forward in each piece, even by making small changes, but the propulsive rhythm is constant.

They have a good balance of melody development and creation of atmosphere. A good example of that is found in Convergencia Caotica. Indeed, they give equal emphasis to the melodic content as to the vibe and feeling of each piece (hence the importance of the keyboards and the guitar effects).

As others have noted King Crimson (Red era) is something of a reference point (in this album as well as the previous ones). One can hear the influence in the music's aggressiveness, the roughness of the guitar tone and the occasional angularity of the compositions. But along with those characteristics, the melodic side is always present, as is a certain jazzy vibe, an upbeat spirit that seems to fight a darker facet in their music. Indeed, I hear a battle between aggression and tenderness, between harshness and warmth. Again, the piece Marejada is a good example of this, as we have a back and forth between an aggressive and rough side and a gentler and more buoyant and optimistic side.

In Abrete Gandul's music I find the portrayal of the daily struggle that we each face. The obstacles in our way and our power of spirit that is needed to overcome them. Their music depicts well how aggressive and hectic our world can be and how tough one must be to survive and navigate through it to prosper. Depending on where you come from and where you live, this message will get across to you or not. Abrete Gandul's music is powerful, hard-hitting but contains elements of hope and tenderness. Their melodies are well developed and intricate, as are the sounds that envelope it. Enjambre Sismico is a stellar album.

'Enjambre Sismico' - Abrete Gandul (8/10)

Chile has been a great place for new prog rock in recent years, and Abrete Gandul is another band from the South American region that I have found myself really enjoying over the past while. Here is an exciting prog fusion band that feeds on dynamic and jazzy overtones for lunch, breakfast, and midnight snack. Their third album 'Enjambre Sismico' shows this group at what may be their best yet, an ever-changing flow of music that will keep the listener engaged throughout. I have never considered myself to be a fan of this particular style of music, but Abrete Gandul has found themselves a new fan.

This music is entirely instrumental, with the band instead letting their instruments do all of the talking. In a way, this lets the band say alot more with their music, freed of the constraints of having to write in parts for singers to shine in. Throughout this album, there are plenty of recognizable hooks, but the main attraction is simply the way that the musicians play. Each member from the saxophonist to guitarist and especially the beautifully intricate drum work are all done incredibly. To make it better, 'Enjambre Sismico' has a very organic sense of production to it. Although the sound is not always totally clear, there is quite a bit of feeling here; I get the impression of a rainforest on a sunny morning after a storm; there's mud everywhere, but it's rather beautiful.

The songwriting here takes several listens to get into and make memorable, but there are certainly hooks in the music, and this is something that I often found lacking in the prog fusion style of music. '...Y Ahora Que?' is a great example of this, managing to form a very charming lick around a schizophrenic and odd time signature. The band plays together wonderfully, with musicians bouncing their performance off of one another. Sonically, my favourite parts of this music are the drums (played here by Antonio Arceu) and the jazzy explorations of the saxophones. The solos sometimes ramble on a bit, but there is still that sense that this has all been thought out. One thing I could never criticize Abrete Gandul for is staying in one place for too long; this is a band that keeps moving along in their ideas. Even in the improvisations, I was hearing hooks that kept popping up, and it kept things interesting. This is easily the best prog fusion album I have heard thus far in the year; Abrete Gandul are a band to look out for.

The third album from this Chilean power house.

The music is instrumental eclectic prog somewhere between Gentle Giant, King Crimson..... and now; a big chunk of fusion too. In short; Abrete Gandul has moved more towards fusion than on their two previous albums. The end result is an album which is pretty close to the Canterbury Scene too.

The music here is driven forward by guitars, keyboards and in particular; bass guitars. The latter one is both used in the background and as a solo instrument.

The result is a strong instrumental album which really does not hit home in my estimations. The music ebbs and flows. But it still lacks an important ingredient; great melodies. Despite of this, it is still a good album from a very promising band. But I hope they will deliver on their promise next time.

3 stars

A very impressive AvantGarde/RIO band from Santiago, Chile, Abrete Gandul's 2011 album Enjambre Sismico sounds as much as a KING CRIMSON (plus flute and more prominent synthesizers) adventure as it does like the rest of the AltrOck Productions cast--which it does.

1. "Hacia la nada" (4:27) sounds so much like 4 A.D.'s DIF JUZ--awesome! (9/10)

2. "Necro sistema" (3:02) drives a little harder, with drums and heavily treated guitars drawing the most attention. Nice bass play starting at 1:20. Fripp-like sustained lead guitar and piano come to foreground in the third minute. (9/10)

3. "Marejeda" (7:29) starts out more ambient New Age, with tuned percussives and weird synth-generated noises setting up the mood in the first two minutes. Drums, bass, synth washes, and dissonant lead guitar arpeggi take over at the 2:05 mark. A melodic, major key chord sequence sets up the fourth minute as heavily-flanged guitar strums and synths draw attention away from the awesome drumming. A more syncopated, odd-timed section begins and then shifts (to that DIF JUZ sound!) in the fifth minute. Shift again to melodic chords in the sixth minute but then go back to King Crimson-like rhythms and sounds again for the final 90 seconds. Cool, intricate, and well-performed song! (9/10)

4. "Consecuencia natural" (10:26) is an expose of very jazzy leanings--from jazz-sounding lead guitar to weave with the electric jazz bass and more delicate, syncopated drums. At 2:30 everything breaks down to simple sounds: two alternating notes throbbing off of the bass, space-flanged guitar notes, some rack lead and cymbal play from the drums. This gradually becomes the foundation for a much more avant-jazz weave over which a sonorous tenor sax plays its heart out. Not my favorite song but I certainly appreciate the creativity and emotion being expressed herein. (8/10)

5. "Colapso" (11:19) opens with about 30 seconds of heavily treated electric guitar strumming two chords before the band signals its participation. At the 1:20 mark, the band finally establish the song's foundation--around and over which it builds and twists and mellows and amplifies around and around over the next four minutes. The a mellow section supports the gentle play of a solo flute until the 7:20 mark, at which time the band restores the original sounds and foundational sounds and variations upon the previously established chord and time structures. At 8:35 a PT-like heavy section opens the way for some serious KING CRIMSON Red-era music! Awesome! To the end of the song! (9/10)

6. "Convergencia caótica" (8:01) opens with some very spacey yet-ominous sounds congealing into a heavy, fast-driving jam during which guitars and thick, chunky bass and a variety of synthesizer sounds take turns trading brief solo jabs at one another. In the fourth minute it sounds as if everyone is about to take it up a notch in intensity when things suddenly quiet down for a bit. Return to heavier drive before the flanged guitar starts to play his freaky chords. A couple more quiet sections and some more piano-based straightforward time signature sections allow different sounds to have their moments in the sun--including the bass, drums, and electric piano. I like this one! (9/10)

7. "Intangible"(7:55) opens with piano and electric guitar weaving their arpeggi together. Bass, drums, and second guitar join in to lay foundations for some synthesizer soloing. At 1:18 the weave shifts and the pace quickens to set a Crimsonian stage for some nice though subdued Allan Holdsworth/ lead guitar soloing. Then at 3:20 things quiet down in the background--though the jazz drums stay busy and the guitar-piano weave remains present in the background--so that some heavily flanged guitar can squeak out some lead sounds. The music builds a little until at 4:55 the Allan Holdsworth imitator is given full command. Just as quickly we're back to some King Crimson Frippisms and interesting synthesizer sounds solo in exchange with the fuzzed bass. The drum work throughout is truly worth attending to but nowhere as much as here, in the seventh and eighth minutes. (9/10)

8. "...y ahora qué?" (7:20) lets the bass establish it's initial stop-and-start structure, which morphs into a nice and easy jazzy walkabout over which soprano sax, electric piano and electric rhythm guitar have their say. A shift around 1:25 into the more syncopated, stutter-step structure allows alto sax and lead guitar to take their turns in the solo light. (9/10)

are both very jazzy--though of very different styles, is very spacey/psychedelic (and RPI sounding), and my favorite, is full of heavy, powerful chord sequences and treated guitars and synths, but the rest could easily pass for King Crimson inventions of the past twenty years.

4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of progressive rock music. A solid effort of well-composed and well-performed music very much in the KING CRIMSON tradition. These are some very talented musicians. Definitely a band to keep following.