In our mildly enthusiastic review of CLDSCP’s Niños Azules, we criticized the band’s methods of paralleling sonic and lyrical literacy for the sake of acquiring catchy hooks. In the last line of that review we also predicted Leopoldo de Sarro and Andres Andinach would find gold the minute they found a channel for melodic succession, and that’s exactly what they offer us in this stunning cover of “Sintonía Americana,” a daring, almost heroic cover original to Argentine '60s rock icons Miguel Abuelo & Los Abuelos de la Nada. This track is one of the first unveiled cuts from Mas Mike, an unofficial tribute to the rock legends by contemporary indie acts.
The original track has always struck me as one of the most sheering songs for the forever mystified “Sueño Bolivariano” (Bolivar’s dream of uniting all Latin American nations into a one-standing federation). All political discourse aside, what CLDSCP have done here is quite remarkable. Indeed, they have followed the core of the lyrics making a song that truly gladdens the heart. This is instrumental and misty-eyed shimmer bursting across the wide scope of a profoundly touching song that as my colleague Jasmine Garsd (from NPR's Alt.Latino) gorgeously describes, as a “beautiful and sensual ode to Latin America, as if it were a woman rather than a continent.”