AUSTIN TV

AUSTIN TV's third album "Caballeros del albedrío" was released as a double album (honestly the sixteen tracks of the album would have fit without any problem in just one CD but probably the essence of the album would have been lost) and it was the last record of this mythical Mexican band that split up leaving a considerably big cult of followers with broken hearts and the hope of AUSTIN TV comes again any day with a brand new album.

The bass and drums are the instruments that give flavor to the album. Along with the interesting synthesizers and the most random samplers of old movies, "Caballeros del albedrío" is a very mystic journey through the most intense songs you can imagine and the radiant delicacy of the soft melodies in HAN.

This album was produced by Emmanuel DEL REAL, a former member of CAFÉ TACUBA: one of the most important Mexican Rock bands from the 90's who has been supporting several Mexican bands to achieve high popularity in the Mexican rock scene.

The first CD is called SÉEB with a length of no more than 25 minutes the eight tracks it contains are really powerful: I would recommend it if you like bands such as RUSSIAN CIRCLES, LITE, ABOUT TESS, or DON CABALLERO.

The second CD is called HÁN, it lasts around 35 minutes and it also features eight songs. The atmosphere in this one is more relaxed and jazzy with very elegant acoustic pieces: I would recommend this to fans of GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR, SWANS, or THE KILIMANJARO DARKJAZZ ENSEMBLE.

This is the first EP that Mexican post-rock band Austin TV released. Here we can appreciate their musical tendencies and the direction they took since the very first moment: instrumental music, emotional compositions, excellent use of guitar and wonderful atmospheres. Nowadays I can say I like this band a lot, though I have to admit I was really skeptic because of some media misinformation, I remember I hardly wanted to listen to them, now I regret about it.

In this self-titled EP released in 2002 we will find five compositions that make together a total of 20 minutes. So prepare to listen to the light-side of post-rock composed by these talented musicians. "Vendrán lluvias suaves" is a wonderful introduction, four minutes of cool post-rock that surely will make you feel interested. The first moments are a bit weird, with some seconds of violin that all of a sudden disappear in order to open the gates of the true post-rock sound. Nice piano, drums and mellow and emotional guitars. The Explosions in the Sky and God is an Astronaut influences are in my opinion obvious here.

"Phillipe, Je Ne Sais Pas" has a soft sound, that is why I mentioned this is the light side of post-rock. A thing I like about Austin TV is that they like adding some lifestyle sounds as background, as we can notice in the first seconds of this track (and in several songs of theirs). This track also has a beautiful violin sound in the second half, which gives an even more emotional feeling, especially in the last moments where the drums sound also increases.

"Esa soy yo" actually follows the same line as the previous ones, with gentle and emotional guitars. Here the background sounds are spoken words in English, it is like a chat that fills or complements what the music suggests. This is the shortest track, and maybe the one that has less to offer.

"Satélite" may be the continuation of the previous track, here we will once again listen to those spoken words in English, which is a double-sharp weapon, because you can either feel attracted by the same (let's say the band's sound) sound, or feel bored of listening to the same. Though I like what I listen, here I honestly consider that the repetitiveness does not really help the band, at least in this first EP.

And finally "Les Choses Sont Bizarres" whose first two minutes have exactly the same style, then there is a calm passage where keyboards prevail and create a nice atmosphere, and then the track changes and a heavier guitar enters, creating an emotional, fast and even happy sound. However, I have to say I did not really love it.

Well, these are the first steps of this cool Mexican band, and though I like and enjoy this EP, I would not really recommend it, because here they do not show their best, so better to get their full-length albums, and leave this to fans. My final grade will be two stars.

Enjoy it!

One year ago I heard the name of Austin TV in several radio stations, or announcements or even within my group of friends, but I actually was never interested because I thought they were just another rock-pop band from my country. Then, a couple of my Mexican prog friends (PA members) mentioned this band was good and that I had something to do with post rock, so then I decided to give them a spin, and I was surprised, they are great!

Don't really know the band's first steps, so this time I cannot give you a career background, so let´s focus on the review of this album called "Fontana Bella", released in 2007 and probably their most acclaimed one inside the Mexican industry, featuring 9 tracks and a total time of 53 minutes approx.

The album kicks off with "Ana, No te Fallé", the first 10 seconds are some kind of nervous noises, besides some spoken word (during this album we will listen to spoken words in some songs), then some seconds later the guitars enter and the post rock feeling immediately comes to you, a soft and calm song which at the same time is catchy and charming, though a couple of minutes later it becomes a little bit heavier, reminding me to 65daysofstatic, very nice opening track.

"Voces Iluminadas por Sonrientes" starts with guitars playing at the same time and with a heavier feeling, meanwhile there is a synth making some noises, and then little by little the song is progressing and building up a nice structure, nice one, but not their best.

The next song is called "Marduk" and it is one of their best without a doubt, it leaves a mark on you since the first listen so you cannot skip it, it starts with a mellow feeling, with some simple guitar chords and a nice synth sound, then the song begins to progress, it makes a short stop but just in order to let the music explode, in moments they play heavily and gives a sense of power, then this track has again spoken words, and I like it a lot due to it's mood changes, in little time they can provoke different things.

"El Secreto de las Luciérnagas" starts really powerful, like 65daysofstatic meets Oceansize, with the addition of those very cool synth effects. Minutes later, the song slows down, and that sense of power becomes peace, the background sounds are very well done, though those peace times it's over after a few seconds where the song becomes to the mood as it began, so it is like a give and take.

"Nadie está aquí, no hay nadie, nada hay aquí" it's an excellent example of the progressiveness a post rock band has, excellent song that starts slow but with a very interesting mood, I love the drumming and the fat bass sound that interplays with the soft piano notes. Then the song is becoming a bit faster and with an excellent atmosphere, I love how they manage to change the mood in just a few seconds, this is without a doubt one of their best songs.

"Flores Sobre las Piedras" begins with beautiful and at the same time sad piano notes along with spoken words, then, strong bass and drumming appear while the piano continues, two minutes later the music is completely different with the help of their synth, making some nervous sounds. But again, it slows down to that sad mood, and yes, you guess it, then the mood changes again, pretty good track.

"Shiva", the guitars at the very beginning remind me to that bad band called TMV, fortunately it was only for the first seconds, then the music returns to Austin TV style and it is like a mix of all the previous songs, I mean, fast ? powerful, slow ? sad, changes, guitar driven song helped with nice synth effects. With the addition of some nice bass lines and some claps noises.

"Mientras las Hojas Caen" starts with some spacey effects, and then the drummer appears just before guitars enter, this song reminds me to Tristeza which is another great post rock band, and actually the music here is not that different to the previous ones, nice.

The album ends with an excellent track called "Voló al Cielo", which lasts almost 14 minutes, but actually the song itself ends before reaching minute 5, the music is very relaxing, with some night noises as background, the wind, a certain calm along with some crickets sound. Then they add some kind of orchestral sounds which help the song create a new agey mood in some moments, I love this song because after the powerful passages the album offers, it ends with this melody full of peace and joy. So as I mentioned, the song ends before minute 5, and the rest of the time you will only listen the sound of an average night before you sleep, crickets, wind, etc, so you can go to bed when you finish this album.

I like it a lot, as I pointed out in my introduction paragraph, this album surprised me a lot and it was a very pleasant surprise, so my final grade is 4 stars.

Enjoy it!