|
|
May 18th, 2006 by Dillon Flynn (Permalink)
Label: Hybris Records Year: 2006 Add Comments |
Fleshy, sweetly perfumed, and full of warm, swishing water. These are all abstracts which seem to fit El Perro Del Mar’s self-titled debut LP more faithfully than the regular “astonishing, rich soundscape” nonsense. An album such as this, freckled with wiggling pianos, weeping violins, summertime guitars and heavy, bloody drums, forces you to think in poetic terms rather than cold, analytical ones.
Stripped to its basics, the album is driven by its sole proprietor, the virtuoso singer/instrumentalist with the wafting air of mystique, Sarah. She is El Perro Del Mar just as El Perro Del Mar is she. Together, the two conjoined entities have written enough heart-wrenching lyrics and beautiful melodies to transform sparse into abundance. And yet, this alone does not sum up the album’s genius.
Precisely why this collection, compiled mostly of previously released EPs and singles, is so deeply affecting cannot be easily explained away. Part of the marvel is its consistency: If you find yourself chilled and haunted by the opening track, the almost unrealistically innocent “Candy,” do not expect to just settle in. Every time a new song picks up, you will be similarly affected, the intensity never wavering. The mixture of Sarah’s versatile but always heady vocals and each cut’s solid, steady structure leaves this album feeling like an old world doo-wop effort that trailed off into an anthology of requiems after the weather turned sour.
And heavens, does it work. El Perro Del Mar is an album crucial to any pop music fan who has ever been too tired to dance.
Purchase or search for related items:
