Modular

Modular: Sinfonías Para Terrícolas

Reviewed By: Maarten Schiethart 

Label: Elefant Format: CD

You will hear a wealth of easy space tunes, sung in gentle Spanish, in these ET Symphonies from Buenos Aires. This mellow pop music, inspired by TV and film tunes from the late 1960's, while hardly original, does make for a warm and smooth sound. The wonderworld of Modular, which features Mariana Badaracco on Yamaha organ and vocals and with Pablo Dahy, Diego Pérez Arango, Gabriel Sanabria, Nano Tonelli and Sebastián Murguiondo also in the line-up, shows great respect for all things beautiful and spaced. Only once or twice verging on becoming corny, this pastiche mixes charm and a dozy sense of mystery. My command of Spanish simply isn't good enough to make sure, but the lyrics seem to be full of irony.

Like the true soundtrack music for a perfumed garden, the Modular album brings subtle, almost unnoticed, joy. 'Sinfonías Para Terrícolas' offers just a pleasant ride of cappuccino bar muzak on first hearing, yet untarnished, after repeated plays, the listener may find that great deal of diversity does exist within the apparent sameness. This album remains potentially 'iffy' if you don't understand any of the words. Tambourine fun rhymes driven by rattling bass lines may not be your natural choice, yet if it is, phew, you'll love this.