FEROZ

— First review of this album —

"Atemporal" is the second studio album by Mexican band Feroz and was self-released in 2021 with a new line up: this time, along with main composer, keyboardist and producer Carlos Enrique Pineda, we find vocalist Dali Pineda and drummer Cesar Saenz plus many guest musicians such as Carlos Pablo Pineda (nylon-string guitar, accordion), Mario Montes Lara (sax), Daniel Montes Lara (trumpet), Miguel Hernandez (trombone), José Luis Sandoval (tuba), Lester Monier (cello) and Oliverio Payan (violin). According to the band, the album was conceived as a journey of eight songs with contrasting styles bound together by the common thread of "timelessness". The eccentric, colourful artwork by David Téllez Giron can give a good idea of the musical content: operatic vocals and dizzying keyboards passages, a touch of electro-pop, a pinch of folklore and a funny attitude to experimentalism. In my opinion, a good term of comparison might be found in the Spanish band Cheeto's Magazine...

There are some excellent pieces mixing prog and classical influences ("Bestia", "Tierra"), Latin rhythms and South-American flavours ("Atemporal", "Banda del Tiempo") but also lighter moments like the opener "Liza" or "Maquinita", a lively electro pop track that every now and again reminds me of the eighties works of an Italian band called Matia Bazar or Franco Battiato, and even funky-disco atmospheres ("7585").

On the whole, a discontinuous work with some ups and downs that still deserves to be listened to with the right attention.

Feroz are a Mexican band from Chihuahua that was formed in 2011. In December 2014 they self-released a very interesting eponymous debut album with a line up featuring Marli Espinoza (vocals), Carlos Enrique Pineda (keyboards), Alfredo Santana (bass) and Eli Rafael Carranza (drums). According to their website, they try to interpret with their music the sounds of the desert and of the cities of Northern Mexico. I don't know if they reached their goal, but for sure on this work the band showcase great musicianship and songwriting skills blending jazz, prog, folklore, ethnic flavours and every now and again even a touch of electronica. The female vocals in Spanish are clear, always confident and warm, the organ and keyboard work is excellent and the rhythm section always ready to set off for sudden changes in atmosphere and tempo. The experimental attitude of the band never looses contact with melody and they are even able to incorporate mariachi music in rock structures in an effective way. When I stumbled by chance in this band, their music for me was a very good surprise. Anyway, you can listen to the album on bandcamp, so have a try and judge by yourselves!