MENOR QUE TRES VOL.1,ALBUM VS EN VENTURA
Delhotel Records, Mexico
Rating: 63
By Carlos Reyes
In the midst of last December, we encountered three bands so good we couldn’t stop ourselves from thinking of a new rush of the so called avanzada regia. It isn’t exactly that, but it’s a nice call to pay attention to Monterrey’s quiet but vibrant scene. The general feeling back then among the bands and blogs was that Mexico City’s key points in radio and the net neglected the new rush; such feeling is part true, part a self-alienation tool to embrace locality. A year later, we found ourselves still mesmerized by Album, En Ventura and Bam Bam, the lack of interest from Mexico City’s radio has significantly increased and those still complaining of regionalism are sounding pretty lame. Well, two of those bands (Album & En Ventura) announced they were breaking up, but they’re apparently back on business making us really happy.
Menor Que Tres is a risky idea; Album would sing over Los Gandharvas while En Ventura would do the same on Album’s songs. It’s not exactly a confrontational album; in fact, it’s a “you go first” kind of concept which doesn’t make it any less thrilling. I’m not sure if all the members of Album contributed to this first volume or just Bul (lead), whatever the case might be it must have been really difficult pull it out. This proves to be a better idea than an actual album and Bul probably had a rough time on where or how to start, but once it did, he carries the concept well enough to like it. If you know Los Gandharvas in and out as we do, the initial spin of this will be sturdy and even frustrating, but the added layer proves to function most often than not at least as a device to of parallel intervention.
Because of its appealing format we’re willing to overlook some of its flaws, the most significant being the rushed add-ons that struggle to level up to En Ventura’s high riffs. Not a problem in campy tracks like “Invierno” or “Canciones de Desamor”, but very obstructive in “Brujula” or “Ridiculo.” One of the most standing tracks here is the chaotic and confused “Es Teatro Griego 2”, a weird but handy sequel to one of our favorite songs of the decade. “Un Whisky Doble” overlaps “Los Granjeros del Amor” in a terrible outcome, it’s lame and a disaster, I’d say you ignore this one. Luckily, Album makes up for it with “Leyla, Como La Cancion” an overworked song whose cheesiness makes it work. I’ve lost count on the number of albums Bul has released this year, this is a polite surprise and variation to the other more ‘serious’ releases (minus DJ Golonosh). We’ll see what Elias Marcos (lead of En Ventura) does with Volume 2, in the meantime, Album made a pretty entertaining (but sometimes horrible) first half of 'karaoke mashup' which as always, you can freely download at Delhotel Records.