SOLVE

I am very happy to review this album at last, because I wanted to do it months ago but for some reasons I couldn't, but well, I am here, and happy because this Mexican band Cronomad has become one of my most precious discovers of this years, and though I had not seen them live yet, their music has totally caught my attention and has left me satisfied due to their great quality and originality. Cronomad has so far released one studio album and two EP's, this full length one entitled Solve was released last year (2014) and I believe it was one of the best Mexican releases of the year, without a doubt.

This album has eight compositions that make a total time of 35 minutes, it might be considered a short album, but man, those 35 minutes are filled with exquisite experimental music that offers psychedelic rock, some folk moments and heavier passages that as a result give us a wonderful progressive rock album. It starts with "Tugurio", a quite experimental track that has some cool atmospheres and nuances that let us know their tendency to decorate the music with some spacey sounds. The instruments that Cronomad uses are the "conventional" ones, with the addition of flute (a true highlight of the band) and bassoon. "Cronofunk" as the title suggests is a delicious funky track in which the bass sound will make you enjoy the time, but in which you might also want to dance, due to the delicious style and the sound implemented by keyboards and flute. The compositional skills of the band are great, attention!

With "Tumbao" the band delights us with a feast of soft psychedelic moments created by keyboards, and complemented by guitars, flute, bass and drums. The music is easy to dig, and I think it is very visual, I mean, someone can put images and create a story on its head, while listening to it. The next track is "Moloko", and without a doubt it is one of my favorite songs from this album due to its diversity of sounds and styles. The spacey sounds and the psychedelia is evident here, so they don't deny their purest tendencies. A well-structured track in which all the elements are into place, all the musicians add their grain of sound, all are equally important. "Définition de l'élégance" is a short and soft musical piece that offers a moment of relaxation; here there is also a jazzy feeling and at half the song some voices sampled, making a new example of the variety of sounds that Cronomad offers.

"Toluca City" is the city where they are based, so I assume this track represents something special for them. A great song that has a cool overdose of psychedelia, but that also adds some kind of avant-garde sound implemented by wind instruments, so the song has great sections, passages in which a vast quantity of elements appear and provide a salad of sounds. This is one of the finest tracks here. But my true favorite comes right away with "Titán", which I believe is the pinnacle of the band, a truly experimental song that is much closer to the RIO and avant-garde realms, letting us know how great they are as composers and performers. The use of winds is outstanding, and let me tell you that in this track and in the previous one, Adrian Terrazas, former The Mars Volta member, plays the saxophone, which happens to be a crucial element on these songs. This particular track caught my attention since the very first listen, it is a true musical orgasm!

And the album finishes with "Chuwau" which happens to be the longest composition here, a song that represents the great and experimental side of Cronomad, in which the bass plays a main role here, accompanied by those psychedelic keyboards. A great track to close this excellent debut album! I repeat, I am happy with this discover, because these young Mexican musicians has a lot of talent, and I am sure they will positively surprise some of you, progressive rock fans. My final grade, 3.75, rounded up to 4 stars.

Enjoy it!