Walle - Vómito de Notas [2010]

I don't know why it took me so long to make a post on Walle. Maybe because Walle was the first Mexican band I ever really got into, and since then they have just been ubiquitous in my headspace and I go wrongfully assuming everybody knows about them. This is basically the worst logic ever because Walle is probably the most underrated band I've heard or seen in my life, and if there's any band that seriously needs to be paid attention to it's this one. These folks are from Tijuana, México.

In terms of bands seeking to push genres into something much more unusual or unheard previously, Walle is at the forefront. They have strong roots in punk and emo (members of Maladie, Satie and Growing Pains - all bands I will eventually post on and that you should check out), but with this project head much more into the math, shoegaze and 'experimental' realms. They have a really attractive interest in creating catchy riffs and then tearing them apart or ending them abruptly, or entering an environment that I might call psychedelic but is perhaps even more accurate to the strange emptiness and alien feeling one might experience while on drugs than the more commonly known music under the same name (the best part about this is they're straight edge).

If there's anything Walle captures really well it's the feelings of joy, humor and gratefulness that somehow sprout from an underlying pervasive sense of anxiety, loneliness and desperation. Vómito de Notas is like a giant mood swing, or a metaphor for an existential crisis. It's the moment when you realized everything sucks but life is still sick because we have each other. I recommend you listen to Mexico 2 - Francia 0.

One of the funny things of the album they like to quote other people and works, which actually works out quite well. I never thought dialogue from Tarkovsky's Stalker or quotations from the bible would sound so good next to experimental punk. Ok, maybe I did. Bukowski is basically ubiquitous if you like anything emo-related. The point is, delve into the lyrics on their bandcamp (if you read spanish), you won't be disappointed.

Genres: Punk, Math Rock, Experimental, Post Rock, Shoegaze

Walle - Vómito de Notas [2010]

1. Apocalipsis 6 - 15 (pm)

2. Tortis

3. México 2 - Francia 0

4. Utopía

5. Mientras Más Conozco A La Gente Más Quiero A Mi Perro

6. Stalker

7. The Worst And The Best

Vocero - Vocero [2001]

I've been quiet for a while, I'm sorry ya'll. Posts are gonna continue to be spotty until I get back to the states in a couple weeks and things are less chaotic. To make it up to you though, today I'm featuring one of the most, if not the most radical emo band from South America - Vocero.

They only ever released one album, a short 15 minutes of innovative emo that takes influence from other bands of the era like Braid and Falling Forward. It has a danceability and an unpredictability that I would also liken to Fugazi in some senses. To me, the most exciting aspect of the band is the vocals. The main vocals at times are like raw punk but slightly refined and placed in an emo context, and at other times are a more predictable raw melody that you find in emo. Meanwhile the backing vocals are generally more melodical but less predictable and kinda surreal in timbre.

Please enjoy the crap out of this band, it's pretty hard to find any information on them but theres a few things posted on a facebook page that was created for them and a review translated into spanish from a Bulgarian blog that actually has a lot of sweet information on other Argentine bands as well (that I have posted and not posted about).

Genres: Emo, Post-hardcore, Punk

Vocero - Vocero [2001]

1) Track 1

2) Track 2

3) Track 3

4) Track 4

5) Track 5

6) Track 6

7) Track 7

Fun fact: One of the members plays Tango on the accordion

Hungría - Fjóplavi [2014]

Do you like math rock? J-rock? Super fricking precise guitar-drum riffage? If so, listen to this. If not, listen anyway, because possibly the most impressive shit out of Buenos Aires I've heard yet (except maybe Vocero, who I have yet to do a post on). Basically, if you want an idea of what it's gonna sound like, just look at the album cover, because it's probably gonna make you think about space or the future. It's actually kinda bewildering that this band is from Buenos Aires, as they sound absolutely nothing like any other band I've heard here and trust me this style of music is not popular, even in the "scene."

It's extremely japanese in tone and rhythm, like if you think of the clean guitar tone in mudy on the Sakuban or tricot. I guess you could call it experimental too, as its got some really chill structurelessness and low-key strange tones. So, get ready for some radical space laser sounds and sick flangers. The band is only a two piece so there are some sweet loops used nicely that bring out dynamics and show off the guitarist, not to mention that the drums are impeccable. Two-pieces generally need to be pretty tight and this band is very much so. Anyways I've again found myself amongst a genre I don't know how to talk about so I'm gonna let the music do the rest of the talking.

Genres: Math Rock, Experimental, I don't even know

Hungría - Fjóplavi [2014]

1. Noventa y siete por ciento.

2. Reykjavik.

3. La trilogía de Andy Carroll I.

4. Úthafskarfa.

5. La trilogía de Andy Carroll II.

6. Los nórdicos.

LÖRI - Split 12" w/ Yusuke [2014]

LÖRI was one of the first Latin American bands from Perú I found, as they form part of La Flor Records in Lima (two members also play in Procrastinación Uno Yo Cero, see older post). At the time they were known as Löri Berensön. I was particularly ecstatic about this album when I found it, and had Sajid Ñopo from La Flor send me a copy to the US all the way from Perú. Okay, I suppose it's not that far, but it was a momentous occasion for DIY for La Flor and I was pretty stoked to get a CD from Peru (living in Buenos Aires these days makes acquiring South American music a little easier, so looking back on it feels kinda silly, but it had a romance to it so just go with it). With this album he also threw in Caídas y Vueltas from P1Y0 and the Angkor Wat/Día Gris split on a scratched up mini CD (to this day I haven't gotten a chance to try and play it, but I suppose it doesn't really matter since I have the songs on the compy). I'll do a post on Angkor Wat soon, they rule.

Anyway, LÖRI is a fierce band that was a bit more emo-violence on the first releases and are now have a lot of post-rock elements. The band shrieks and growls and plays some heavily distorted stripped-down riffs that feel punk as frick. Whether they're conscious of it or not, the band definitely takes some root in hardcore punk, from the abrasive shout/scream distorted vocals to the heavy walking drumbeat. Maybe it's just a hardcore punk band that has tastes that lean towards emo? Maybe I've classified this band all wrong, but either way it's pretty slick and contains that serious abrasion and disgust that I sense in a lot of aggressive Peruvian bands. Check out their other stuff on their bandcamp, as their old stuff is super rad and is a bit rougher around the edges.

So, here's the important part: YOU CAN ORDER THIS RECORD RIGHT NOW. Friendly Otter (Chicago) has it up for pre-order HERE, so get your hands on it while you can because Latin American screamo on vinyl is pretty rare and v exciting. It will also be available from Zegema Beach (Canada), La Agonía de Vivir (Spain) and Off Cloud Nine (Michigan).

Edit: Now available at Zegema Beach HERE

Genres: Screamo, Emo-violence, Hardcore Punk, Post Rock

(this is from an older album, listen to the split below)

LÖRI - Split 12" w/ Yusuke [2014]

1. La Taza Medio Llena

2. Cada vez que te levantes a las 6 AM

3. Coherencia

You can listen to the Yusuke side here!