Corazón

Crush Bands Around the Globe: Spain

There’s something wonderful going on in Spain these days. Something light, frothy and fabulous that gives the impression that the country has taken over as the happiest, silliest, mod-est place on the map. Spanish label Elefant Records has been documenting this shift over the last couple years by releasing some amazingly good pop records from their home country’s best groups. Most of these bands have a sound that borrows from the easy listening boom of the ’60s and the smooth sounds of A&M records in the early ’70s, adds a sweet and slinky bossa nova undercurrent, and then a helping of the gooey goodness of the early Cardigans. This breezy concoction sits happily on top of some of the hookiest, giddiest pop tunes anywhere.

Let’s take a look at the cream of Spain’s crush bands before I go any further off the rails.

Cola Jet Set
This video really says it all about the fun and frolicsome nature of the group. The song comes from their 2009 record on Elefant called Guitarras y Tambores and even though I haven’t heard it yet, it’ll most likely be in the running for giddiest album of the year.

Corazon
This duo from Madrid have been around for a couple years and I’m kicking myself that I am only now discovering them. They have a quieter, less frivolous sound than many of their counterparts and the emotion that comes through on some of the tracks from their aptly titled 2005 record Melodrama is thick with sadness.
Their new record Nuevo Futuro comes out on Elefant in March.

Linda Guilala
When the excellent punk pop group Juniper Moon broke up, keyboard player Eva and drummer Ivan started their own band Linda Guilala. They carry on with the spunky and sweet sounds of Juniper Moon (whose 2002 album El Resto de Mi Vida came out on Elefant, of course) but with a less a professional sound and more fragile charm. Look for their debut record later this year.

Serpentina
This band’s record from last year swept me off my feet an into a warm embrace that felt like
a hazy summer day of 1973 with the sun fading away and the Carpenters on the radio, followed by Sergio Mendes. Well, anyway… Planeando en Tu Azotea is pretty great. This first song sounds like the EZ Monkees, the second like a hopped up on goofballs Beach Boys:

The rest of the album is just as nice. Sometime silly, sometimes melancholy but always spot-on wonderful.

Aline & the Splendids
Taking cues from girl groups, ’50s pop and bouncy C86-style indie pop, these guys have great songs and a very good vocalist in Aline. They aren’t on Elefant yet but they probably will be soon.