SYSTEMA SOLAR, SYSTEMA SOLARIndependiente, Colombia
Rating: 79
By Carlos Reyes
Systema Solar sounds like it could’ve come out of the Nacional Records catalog, it carries that progressiveness of the alter-latino record that is both, a commercial bet and a fest of its own. The genre has found a commercial channel where pop has become a form of exploration; meaning that alternative bands are finally realizing that pop music is as effective to twist as it is to alternize roots music. Systema Solar is not the first band to do it, Los Amigos Invisibles have been doing it for sometime (one of the several reasons why Commercial is so good), it’s just that Systema Solar recollects these rhythms along with its cliches and misconceptions and slices them up in a very commercial album, a very good breakthrough album.
Systema is as interesting as Bomba Estereo, Monareta and Superlitio, they’re all very attached to Colombian powerhouse but this band is particular for its humor and the careless almost rude treatment of their beats. “Bienvenidos” is one of those songs that sense you before you sense it; it demands a physical response the second it starts and doesn’t let go until your dance moves find the adequate liberation to enter this very well crafted (and sweaty) Systema Solar. Production-wise, it sounds so pleasantly furnished, it’s got those glimsy funky cumbia forms that reminds me of those created by Visitante (Calle 13) and Toy Selectah. “Mi Kolombia” is what one would expect from a patriotic loving song (locality and borders), it’s quite a charm, actually, the most charming song about Colombia since Naty Botero’s “Colombia.”
In an album full of accessible tracks, “Chico” becomes a priceless challenging piece to assimilate; it’s easy to love but hard to process for its emotional unstability. The introductory wave (first 10 seconds of the song) move me so much, then there’s a bunch of stuff going on that I feel so lost it’s hard not to feel anguished, and then there’s that “vamos a bailar lalalalala” and I can hardly take such celestial heights, a wonderful intentionally messy song. “Malpitando” is as mind blowing as any song by Buraka Som Sistema, “es como confundir El Amazonas.” Systema Solar works better when all its members unify and explode than with certain individual tracks that fail to be memorable. “Quien es el patron?” has the potential to cross into a hit, at the very least, it demands to be considered by third world film supervisors looking for a gritty catchy chant.