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Hijo de la Tormenta, El Manto de la Especie: Finding Ground

hijo de la tormenta el manto de la especie

I don’t imagine I need to run down the history of Argentina’s heavy rock scene for you — from Pappo’s Blues through Los Natas and into modern fuzz and sludge like Demonauta — but suffice it to say the country’s contributions to the international sphere of underground rock and roll have been manifold, varied and forward-looking. They have been a part of the conversation for as long as the conversation has been happening. All this is as a preface to note that with their second album, El Manto de la Especie, Cordoba-based trio Hijo de la Tormenta are stepping forward to claim their piece of this storied real estate. They do so with six tracks and just under 38 minutes of laid back, tonally resonant, subtly jazzy heavy, earthy psychedelia, confident in its execution, organic in its presentation and warm in its effect on the listener.

When so inclined, as on “Manifiesto al Sol” or “El Abuelo,” the lyrics for which are based on a Walt Whitman poem, the trio of guitarist/vocalist Juan Cruz Ledesma, bassist Guido Di Carlo and drummer Santiago Ludueña — plus Fabricio Morás on keys for “Rock Para Huir de una Ciudad,” “53 Cosechas” and “Manifiesto al Sol” — are able to enact a formidable heavy roll, and they do so bringing Di Carlo‘s bass forward on “El Abuelo” to enact El Manto de la Especie‘s most engaging nods. The context in which it arrives is no less pivotal to the overall impression of the album, however, and spacious, airy keyboards and swinging cymbal work in the aforementioned “Rock Para Huir de una Ciudad,” which opens, help set an exploratory tone guided by sure hands.

Hijo de la Tormenta made their self-titled debut (review here) in 2014 and tagged it as “mountain psychedelia.” Their second album offers some similar vibe — you’ll note I called it “earthy” above — but feels less limited in its landscape, which is a sign of the growth in chemistry the trio have undertaken in the last two years. The scope of El Manto de la Especie is broader, in other words, but the flow is no less consuming, as “Rock Para Huir de una Ciudad” opens quietly and shifts into heavier push to make way for the start-stop fuzz of “53 Cosechas” and the jam-into-low-end-bliss of “El Abuelo,” which hypnotizes in its first half of its six minutes only to offer a knockout blow of bass in its second, all in quick succession.

Part of that the first three tracks are legitimately shorter than what follows — apart from closer “Recibimiento,” which is two minutes long — as both “Manifiesto al Sol” (8:37) and “Un Mañana Aún Más Glorioso Nos Espera” (12:31) range farther, but the feeling of continuity between the first three songs is essential to how the album overall leads the listener through its course, and the fluidity of groove that persists isn’t to be understated. Hijo de la Tormenta are in no rush, and their songwriting is patient, encompassing and varied in structure, but they’re not simply wandering for the sake of wandering either. That motion that pushes through one song into the next gives a linear feel, and the sense of design in the record’s structure, drawing the listener in early and establishing such a rich atmosphere of natural tonality, only speaks to the level of conscious intent at play on the part of the band. They make it sound effortless, and maybe it is since nothing here sounds forced in the slightest, but it’s an admirable outcome either way and it makes El Manto de la Especie a joy front to back.

hijo-de-la-tormenta

And when they do make their way to “Manifiesto al Sol” and “Un Mañana Aún Más Glorioso Nos Espera,” the signal is pretty clear that they’ve arrived at the heart of the album. Aside from the fact that, together, the two tracks account for more than half the total runtime, the feeling as the lightly progressive beginning of “Manifiesto al Sol” gets underway is that the trio have been working toward this build. The rhythm calms somewhat before Ledesma‘s vocals come in with a melody that reminds of Been Obscene, and by then they’re more than halfway through. Keyboards again play a large role as they push into more weighted low end and a fuzzed-out guitar solo, bringing a chorus back late to finish, and quiet guitar noodling opens “Un Mañana Aún Más Glorioso Nos Espera,” going past two minutes before the first cymbal crash accompanies.

There are some trades between quiet and loud parts, but the core of El Manto de la Especie‘s longest track remains the instrumental chemistry between LedesmaDi Carlo and Ludueña, vocals arriving after the band has shifted seamlessly through heavier thrust and atmospheric desert jazz, which quiets down at the midpoint only to pick up again, led by fuzz guitar, backed by fuzz bass, propelled by the drums as they hit the peak that serves as the payoff for the album as a whole. They end “Un Mañana Aún Más Glorioso Nos Espera” quiet and offer a pastoral epilogue in the acoustic-meets-e-bow “Recibimiento,” some late “oohs” providing the closer’s only vocals for a harmonized, folkish feel. Hopefully that’s something Hijo de la Tormenta are teasing perhaps as a signal of future progression, i.e., where they might be headed, but it also adds another element to El Manto de la Especie while retaining the ambience of the material preceding.

The clear maturity Hijo de la Tormenta showcase on what’s still just their second full-length is likewise encouraging as regards future prospects for staking their stylistic claim, but that shouldn’t undercut the value of what they’ve accomplished here either. With these songs, they both signal what they have to offer going forward and begin making that offering.

Hijo de la Tormenta, El Manto de la Especie (2016)

Hijo de la Tormenta on Thee Facebooks

Hijo de la Tormenta on Bandcamp

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2 Responses to “Hijo de la Tormenta, El Manto de la Especie: Finding Ground”

  1. David says:

    Hi Demonauta & At Devil Dirt are bands from Chile, cheers

  2. Miguel says:

    Guys, Demonauta and At Devil Dirt are Chilean bands, but share the same passion by the style.
    Greetings and Stay stoned!

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