21 CANAPÉS

Akinetón Retard is, in my humble opinion, a major asset in the current Latin American avant- garde rock scene, a band that has appropriated a most peculiar way of combining energy, sophistication and humor in a unique musical voice where Zeuhl, fusion, hard rock and experimental jazz are cohesively melted. The band's third effort "21 Canapés" has an unusual format of several short tracks ? most of them had been written for theater plays and modern ballet pieces, but were eventually left behind, so AR decided to compile a selection of 21 unused compositions and make a whole album out of them. This particular album does not get to exploit the band's typically inflammatory power as their other releases do, but again, this must not be labeled as a shortcoming or some sort of failure: instead, this should be regarded as a specific signal of the casual nature of the entire album's inception, and as such I should be understood and enjoyed. In other words, AR exercises a level of constraint as demanded by the concise frameworks that encapsulate the tracks' individual developments. 'Akinefrón' opens up the repertoire with an exciting fusion flavor, with a rhythmic scheme fully sustained by guitar, bass and percussives, while the dual saxes gladly indulge in their ordained sonic flights, in this way completing the subtle architecture of warm sensuality. Also fusion-centered but relying more heavily on Central American folklore are the two 'La Vida Rota' tracks, which mostly expose the standardized vibration of Cuban bolero. In fact, the guest female vocalist on the sung version properly delivers that sense of passion usually attributed to Latin American love songs. 'Hawai' is an eerie snippet full of exotic colors, while 'Farmacologías' is a lovely exercise on introspective textures (perhaps my favorite rack in the album). Later on, 'Señorita Depresión' will reiterate a similar introspective mood. On the other hand, 'Obseso y Convulso', 'Potencia' and 'Pilotos de Califont' are clearly stated manifestos of the sort of weird aggressiveness that are by now an undisputed AR-patent. It is such a pity that 'Oruros' had to be so short, since its moderately dense atmosphere has enough appeal as to justify a more thorough expansion, of course, in the old AR way. The challenging nature of 'Desiertos de Lagos Transparentes' and 'Bipolaretxea' are also good examples of how well AR can still express their own genuine artistic madness in this concise scheme. Not the greatest AR album, but "21 Canapés" happens to be still a very good avant- rock album to be properly enjoyed by avant-rock lovers.