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I
don’t think
I exaggerate when I say that not since Leuzemia’s super classic
A La Mierda Lo Demas was unleashed unto an unsuspecting
Peruvian crowd back in the early 80’s that I’ve been treated to
such a powerful, dexterous and enthusiastic display of native
(my kind of native) rock and roll. I was literally caught with
my pants down. I thought El Cuy would be good but such
unreasonable reasoning stemmed from the band’s deal with a
German indie and the rest was pure curiosity and assumption. I
wanted to know what was brewing back home and though my hometown
has always been home to talent, that talent has usually been
stripped to its skivvies and proverbial bare bones due to lack
of funds and crappy ass production jobs. What comes to mind?
Radio Criminal, a killer Peruvian band with songs to annihilate
but whose discography is marred by the kind of lo fi production
that has no character nor power nor charm.
Yes, the
small crowds of fanatics are split like bananas; for those into
shiny power pop the poor Andean nation offers the glimmering
energy of Libido; for those willing to dig into old school prog
the capital of Lima offered Traffic and more recently Fragil
(whose minimal progressive Avenida Larco is arguably one
of the top 5 best Peruvian rock records – where the fuck is my
vinyl of it?); on the metal and hardcore side there’s always
been plenty (of the most traditional, in the historical sense of
the word, Mortem, Kranium and Anal Vomit come to mind); a more
recent visit to the motherland revealed the stoner talents of
Reino Ermitaño and La Ira de Dios; two who’ve been representing
our side of the globe with head up dignity. But never have I
encountered a Peruvian band that rocks and rolls as prodigiously
as El Cuy. Then again, I don’t call Lima home anymore and I may
be missing some actuals and whoever came in between then and
now.
First thing
I like about El Cuy’s self-titled debut (did I mention that it
was released by Germany’s World in Sound) was the recording,
which as I understand took place in three different studios, one
of which under the supervision of Fragil’s keyboard man Tavo
Castillo. The sound is stripped to its bones, it is natural,
it’s got no artifices leaving then this Lima trio to its only
artifices (of which there are truly none) and that’s their
skills. Second thing I like about El Cuy’s self-titled release;
the energy, through ten fueled-up cuts this trio delivers in the
same manner that The Hellacopters did back before they started
pushing the break and thought about cleaning up their sound.
Plain and simple, these guys rip in all fronts, not only
pummeling with gusto, speed and energy, but also infusing each
track with a freewill sense of jamming that most stoner rock
bands wish they could get through an Amsterdam blunt of purple
haze.
For what it
is though El Cuy is economic, they pack about ten minutes worth
of jamming into three-to-four minute solid slabs of the kind of
rock that stands somewhere between 70’s Detroit, 60’s
psychedelic freakout and the first stoner wave of the 90’s.
Instrumentally speaking this trio is of the most adept coming
from South America. Especially note worthy are the jams and
hundred solos of Billy Astete. Lastly, if there is anything
that underground latin bands have always lacked is good vocalist
and the vocals here do not necessarily lead the songs but
provide an extra shade, one more color to El Cuy’s charged up
sound. Very good work. Want one more Peruvian band worthy of
your attention? Check out Los Manganzoides.
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