PERSONA

Persona is the 3rd full-length studio album by Argentinian artists Alejandro Matos. The album was independently released in 2006. The album is a "true" one- man project as multi instrumentalist Alejandro Matos handles all instruments and sings all vocals. As I´m not familiar with the Spanish language, the lyrical concept is unfortunately lost on me, but I´m told that Persona is a concept album, which is further supported by the fact that the album is divided into two chapters with a sort of interlude seperating them. The first chapter is called Deformacion and the 2nd chapter is called Revelacion. The atmospheric interlude is called Fracasos Bajo Fianza.

The music on the album is melancholic rock with progressive elements. Alejandro Matos sings with great passion and while not all melody lines are equally memorable, there are several occasions during the playing time that provide emotional impact. References to acts like Porcupine Tree and late seventies Pink Floyd are valid IMO. The musicianship is strong on the album and it´s obvious that Alejandro Matos is a skilled musician. The vocals could have been a bit more varied, but otherwise the vocal performance is good. I´m sure that if I understood the lyrics the vocals would make even more of an impact on me. The drums on the album are programmed and if there´s a complaint about the album it´s about the drums. They are pretty well programmed but music like this needs a "real" drummer IMO. Programmed drums that are meant to sound artificial can be a great part of a band´s sound, but here the programmed drums work as a substitution to a real drummer and that´s seldom a good idea. The songs are all of a good compositional quality and I really enjoy the more dark moments on the album like the almost chaotic/ aggressive opener Dos mil años de tierra or Guerra de silencios.

The production is good, but there are minor issues here and there. Considering that Persona is a self-produced affair, I think the sound is very decent though.

Persona has been a positive experience to me, and with minor adjustments I´m positive that Alejandro Matos can reach an audience that will cherish his music. A 3 star rating is well deserved and while it´s not the fault of Alejandro Matos that I don´t understand the lyrics, I have a feeling that if I had understood the lyrics I would have given Persona another half star. I think it´s an album where you need to listen to the lyrics to get the full picture. On a sidenote I´d like to mention the great cover artwork. Beautiful piece of art.