Crvel : " Sombras"

It may not be politically correct to contemplate if the egregore of where a band hails from effects what kind of music they will be effective in making. But there is some merit with black metal, so this is worth considering when it comes to goth, death rock or what ever brand of post-punk you might want to refer to Crvel as. They have a very rough garage punk sound, but the feeling that the music should evoke is not connecting for me. Is is Mexico? Los Angeles is a dirty and warm place so you would think that would not effect it. William S Burroughs did tons of drugs in Mexico, so the junkie sleaze factor should not effect it either. But the first three songs on this album have all run together with no dynamics and their native tongue not lending itself to the articulation to invoke the feeling death rock should give me. It was not until the 4th song that this happened. They slowed down and actually sung some. Go figure.

There is a spastic skip in the step of "Reflejos" and the really crude bass tone doesn't give this song the back bone it needs. When the guitar backs off and you can hear the bass it sounds like it came from a pawn shop. Perhaps if they tuned it, who knows. "Vision Nocturna" cruises along at the same speed. So once again we are face with songs that all sound the same and the dialect of the vocals is only making matters worse. When they try to yell and get a grittier vocal sound like Bellicose Minds nothing gets any better. Perhaps if it was just totally harsh screaming it might not be as obvious. Once I'm over half way through this album it becomes a test of endurance. The punk speed is the only thing they really get right. Perhaps if they went in more of a Germs direction that would work better.

"Fabula" doesn't find things improving much. The drummer is the best of this bunch, with vocals being the worst and the guitar somewhere between the two. When we are at the last song ...well it sounds just like the bulk of this album. The same speed for every song and the same three chords too. I think it's safe to say I'll skip any more death rock from Mexico. This might be the lowest score of any album I have actually made it through as this gets a 2.5.