PERSONA

Alejandro Matos (1969) is a multi-instrumentist musician from Argentina. His main instrument is the guitar, but he also plays bass, keyboards, sings, and also uses programmed drums. "Persona" is his third solo album, recorded between 2004-2005, and it was released in 2006, as an independent release (not released in major record labels) This is a conceptual album, and the concept in this album, if I understood well, is about how people since birth has to learn to live in a world which has several established things about how to live and how to relate to the others. The album is divided in two main parts: "Deformación" ("Deformation"), on which the composer explains in the lyrics (and in the CD booklet notes) that the people as persons "deformate" their personalities learning how to use masks to relate to other people and to live in the world. So, each individual loses their real personalities to survive in the world. This leads the persons to feel "unreal" to themselves, and this also leads them to feel unwell and angry. In the second part, called "Revelación" ("Revelation"), the persons become aware about this "deformation" in their personalities and try to fight to be themselves in a world dominated by the use of masks in the personal interactions. The conclusion is that every person has to use masks to live in the world, not matter how hard they fight to be themselves, and they feel that they are not free. The concept of this album has several criticisms (implicit in the lyrics) to education, politics and religion. The album doesn`t leave an optimimstic view to the listener in the end. But, despite being pessimistic in concept, it has some artisitic value, and it is a valid concept, even if the world`s view in the listener is not as pessimistic as the composer`s view. Musically, the music is dark, dense, and it is a continuous piece of music with the two main parts of the concept being united only by track 7, called "Fracasos bajo fianza"("Failures under bail"), which works as a quiet instrumental "bridge" between the two main parts of the album. The music has several influences from some bands, particularly The Cure, and sometimes from Pink Floyd, Arena, early Marillion, Lacrimosa and others. The guitars are played with a lot of arpeggios, without very much use of distortion (except in the guitar solos, which are paused, not very fast), creating "atmospheres". The keyboards are also used to create musical atmospheres, but in this album they are very much in the back of the mixing. The programmed drums (something which I don`t like very much in general, not only about this album) sound good, but they anyway sound "programmed". I think that the use of a good drummer could have been a better choice. The music is very Progressive, of course, but it also has some influences from not Progressive bands like The Cure and U2, mainly in the guitars playing. The mixing is very good, because Matos gives enough space to each instrument without using saturation for the overall sound of the album. As singer, Matos sings well, but I think that a strongest lead singer could have done a better work. The cover design is interesting, with the use of which looks like the fingerprint from a person, and it works with the concept of the album: each person is an individual who should be respected and cosnidered as an individual. As a whole, the album looks and sounds like being done with a lot of care (Matos even collaborates with other persons for the cover design). It is a good album, but it is not the kind of music that I listen to very often. But if you like dark albums, you are going to enjoy listening to this album. I suggest you to visit www.alejandromatos.com.ar to listen to this album and to buy it, if you like it.