Los Bonsais - Nordeste

Elefant
(ELE1194: 8428846111940)

$15.00

A few weeks ago, we got to enjoy “Los Perdimos De Vista”, the advance single for this new numbered-limited-edition, blue, 10” Mini-LP, “Nordeste”. This song is exactly the one that opens this ode to immediacy: 10 songs in 18 minutes, distributed over two sides, where the addictive melodies slip between whips of punk-pop, mid-tempo, highly hummable songs, with even some small delicate touches.

“Los Perdimos De Vista” surprises us with its 50s touches, which are increased by that Hammond that also shows up on other songs, and which connects so well with the energy of what are looking to be their best songs so far. “Plan B” is a push, a sigh (it barely reaches the minute-mark), a furious and festive exhale; so much fun. Pure punk-pop. “Como Si Nada” doesn’t slow things down, continuing with the distortion and the saturated sound, once again giving us a fun Hammond that highlights the melancholy lyrics that stab us right through the heart like a hook with the sweetest bait. We will always hum that “Ya no te acuerdas de mí”. “Galbana” makes us think of NOSOTRÄSH for that kind of song that seems unfinished, small sketches that give their all in their delicateness and strange structure. “La Espina” closes the A-side, and it does so with the garage primitiveness of BEAT HAPPENING sweetened by Helena’s playful voice and Nel’s choruses.

The B-side begins with another unstoppable, raw, direct song, “Vacaciones Permanentes”. It is already on our list of favorite summer-longing songs, with that air of C86 that glides through their songs, somewhere between DIY and immortal anthems. “Después De Todo…” increases the noise even more, bringing it close to the likes of MY BLOODY VALENTINE and THE CHARLOTTES, showing us that the collaboration on previous albums with Eva and Iván of LINDA GUILALA was more than just a coincidence. “Sobremesa” sticks with the philosophy of Galbana and its “pop-poem” structure: a delicious, pleasant sketch, a phrase that touches our soul (“Déjame estar en casa / Quiero quedarme en casa”; Let me stay home / I want to stay home), a perfect harmony that gives the album’s sound an enviable breadth and reminds us of the first recordings of MARINE GIRLS and AVENTURAS DE KIRLIAN. “Hidroavión” returns to the punk principles of immediacy, feeding the ferocity of a song that invites us to enjoy our journey with feedback and noise. To close “Nordeste”, the release wraps up with a more tormented tone, where the key is the wall of sound and the noise, relentless, forceful, unquestionable.

So, Nel and Helena return with a blue vinyl, the color of the sea that baths the island of their precious cover art (another piece by Helena and her infinite creativity), which marks a significant step in the duo’s career, opening their sound up and showing directions of possible horizons that open before a group that today, here and now, gives us tremendous pleasure. Go see them on their island. You won’t regret it.

TRACKLIST: 01 Los Perdimos De Vista 02 Plan B 03 Como Si Nada 04 Galbana 05 La Espina 06 Vacaciones Permanentes 07 Después De Todo... 08 Sobremesa 09 Hidroavión 10 Nordeste