This album has aroused a lot of expectations. Partly because of the extreme quality of its preceding singles -whose title tracks, “Mi Novela Autobiográfica” and “Yin Yang” are included in here; but mostly because anybody in the know is aware that every LE MANS´ new record implies a giant step forward, a new surprise, as the band specializes in reinventing itself like any other one in the worldwide pop scene could even dream of. If…
This album has aroused a lot of expectations. Partly because of the extreme quality of its preceding singles -whose title tracks, “Mi Novela Autobiográfica” and “Yin Yang” are included in here; but mostly because anybody in the know is aware that every LE MANS´ new record implies a giant step forward, a new surprise, as the band specializes in reinventing itself like any other one in the worldwide pop scene could even dream of. If this sounds a bit exaggerated to your ears, please remember the trilogy “Entresemana”/”Zerbina”/”Saudade” and try to find such an impredictable,but perfectly coherent evolution in any nineties band all over the world. Well, then here it is the ultimate leap forward.
“Aquí vivía yo” (“Here is where I used to live”, wonderful title) is LE MANS´ B-E-S-T album EVER. OK, so this is what all record company infos always say of every record they put out. Besides, “Entresemana” and “Saudade” were so brilliant that some people think that the band reached its highlight long ago and all they can do is to inevitably go downhill, or just record a new album identical to the previous ones.Really?
Quite not. The almost-eight-minute-long opening track shows us there were a lot of sides of LE MANS´ universe that hadn´t been revealed to us yet. “Canción de todo va mal” (“Everything goes wrong tune”) is a song which is constantly growing: over a mysterious, almost tribal electronic drum section, more and more instruments -trombones, mandolines, guitars, pianos- are subtly added in progression, till the voice comes in at the end . The result is something very different to anything recorded by the band in the past, but still sounding 100% LE MANS. This will be the general tone of the album: there isn´t a radical rupture with their preceding works, but everything is more effective and succesful than ever. The production - transparent and professional- helps a lot, but it´s crystal clear that the band has come out with their most complete collection of songs they´ve ever brought to us. And, if you´ve listened to their previous albums, that´s a lot!
Now we should talk about the lyrics, assuming that most of you won´t be able to understand a single word. Unlucky you! Because Teresa Iturrioz has finally become one of the finest pop writers in Spanish. Her usual romantic, fragile, world-weary and melancholic ways are often coated by a thin layer of subtle humour, that prevents us of sinking into chronic sadness. Take, for instance, “La Princesita”: a tale about this little princess locked up in her tower, moaning because she has never had the chance to see the sea. In some other less skillful hands, this could sound too childish or simply inane, but she manages to turn it into something slightly comical , without losing its delicacy and tenderness at all, so you grin but at the same time your heart tears into pieces...
Jone Gabarain is a key element in the whole affair. It´s difficult not to be touched by her trembling, hypershy, crystal-like voice... She sounds like a sort-of lazy Astrud Gilberto, singing in her kitchen right after waking up. She shares with the Ipanema girl that beautiful, slightly amateur style, a delicious unsteadiness that fits perfectly in the lyrics she has to deal with: the eternal good-for-nothing girl that looks for her role in life (“Mi Novela”, “Papá Negro”), the one who is bored by everything and everyone (“Canción de Todo Va Mal”, “¡Ay! QueTriste Estoy”), the one who rejects (“Yin Yang”) and is rejected (“Aquí vivía yo”, “No vino...”) in the same timid, indifferent mood, never raising her voice too much.
OK, so you can´t understand the lyrics at all. Fortunately, Ibon Errazkin is also within LE MANS´ ranks.He´s an incredibly talented guitarist and arranger, with a vast musical culture and an imagination that knows no bounds. His songs are usually so well constructed, filled with such wonderful melodies and chords, seasoned with such exquisite arrangements, that sometimes they don´t need any words or vocals to sound beautifully, as it happens in “Balalaika” and “Una Mujer Expansiva”.
All these qualities have always been there, even in the album they released in 1989 under the name of AVENTURAS DE KIRLIAN. But on every new record they have managed to reinforce them, by improving their working method and writing better and better songs. This is the final stage. This is one of the best albums written in years, or even decades. No kidding. We really mean it.
“Sic Transit Gloria Mundi”, a farewell anthem with Tito Pintado (TELEFILME, ANTI) and Josetxo Anitua (CANCER MOON) as guest vocals, closes the album and a musical progression of more than ten years. When someone writes about pop music in the nineties, LE MANS will be there. In bold, capital letters. As a reference for bands in the future. No doubt. END.
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