Video: Ases Falsos - "Mi Ejercito"

As far as poetic contributions are concerned, Cristobal Briceño postures as the leader of the pack in Chilean pop. This is true despite the fact that Ases Falsos are actually the contemporary descendants of rock en español. The poetic finesse of Conducción is charming, vague and compellingly incisive. Back in 2014, Pierre Lestruhaut called Conducción “lyrical pop grandeur,” a record that scaled back the aggressively political intentions of its predecessor, Juventud Americana. This isn’t necessarily true. Ases Falsos’ 2016 single “Mi Ejercito” shows Conducción wasn’t primarily a scaling back of political intensity but rather a calculated channeling of the age old mantra: the personal is political.

As the first single from Conducción indicates, our realities must find symmetry. The fourth (and likely final single from Conducción) succeeds in conducing balance. “Mi Ejercito” contemplates the limitations of teen angst: “parece que fue ayer cuando creí en la lucha contra el mundo” instead of channeling the energy of the world for combat. As Briceño would have it, the world is his army of which he is its commander and first line of defense. The Zapatista saying “mandar obedeciendo” comes to mind. In other words, Briceño alludes to the concept of command-obeying where the power of leadership directly stems from obeying the will of the community. True to form, Briceño channels personal agency over being a martyr for empty populism: “soy mi propia carne de cañon, y mi conspirador” (I am my own cannon made of flesh, my own conspirator).

But this isn't just a fluff piece for Ases Falsos or Cristobal Briceño's ego. I have thoughts regarding the music video for “Mi Ejercito” which follows a trend of cringe worthy visual presentations for the group: its corny. I also have some choice words regarding Cristobal Briceño’s confusing, nauseating, and disappointing comments regarding feminism which Alex Anwandter recently chastised and attributed to machismo. Cristobal, meet bell hooks en español. In the pejorative sense, Briceño's comments were pretty rock en español indeed.