To be perfectly honest, I’ve been putting off reviewing the self-titled MeteorCity debut from Buenos Aires desert-style rockers Humo del Cairo for about a week now because I’ve wanted to try and glean some better sense of the album’s structure, form and methodology. I don’t know if I got all that for having taken the extra time, but with a record like this, which alternates between longer and shorter cuts and puts to use a ranging sonic approach, repeat listens can’t hurt.

Humo del Cairo does go back and forth between extended cuts and shorter pieces, at least for the first four of the total six tracks – the last two, “Errantes” and “Cauce” being about eight and seven minutes, respectively – opening with the 11-minute rocker “A Tiempo,” on which the trio waste no time earning a Los Natas comparison with driving rock rhythms. But soon the song opens up into a jam and the reasoning behind the longer track times is revealed. To the credit of the players — guitarist Juan Manuel Diaz, drummer Javier Murillo Gorchs and bassist Gustavo Bianchi – it doesn’t get boring, but the divisions between tracks become almost arbitrary by the end of this first 11 minutes, which is going to drastically change how you experience the album.

The upshot? That Humo del Cairo are best kept to full sessions rather than track-by-track listening. If you’re going to dig into the record, be aware that what you’re getting is a total-album flow. Each song has its grooves, but slower-tempo second track “Nimbo” is undoubtedly best experienced coming out of “A Tiempo,” and ditto for “Panorama,” which shows off Diaz’s nimble hand in another extended stoner jam. Among the usual suspects of ‘70s influences (your Floyds of Pink, Cheers of Blue and Crimson Kings), the band especially cites Pappo’s Blues as a point of particularly Argentine inspiration, and if that’s heard anywhere on Humo del Cairo, it’s heard on “Fuego de San Antonio,” which instead of opening into the by-now expected jam, keeps things straightforward and rocking for its shorter duration and ends as raucously as it begins before giving a kind of drone tone to lead into “Errantes.”

As the first of the closing pair of tracks, “Errantes” surprises with an acoustic base and more soulful vocals than the album has yet featured, multi-tracked and all. Harmonica, crooning and a simple drum beat keep the song earthy and organic feeling, and though you almost don’t realize it till you’re halfway through, the break from the distortion, riffing and heavier jamming is quite welcome. It’s also the perfect setup for the wah-busting “Cauce,” which finishes Humo del Cairo in exciting and excited fashion, blending the more complex vocal technique of “Errantes” with some of the heaviness of the preceding tracks. There is, of course, a hidden bonus cut 20 minutes after the fact, which will be of interest to anyone with a mind for a quick bit of instrumental playing led by an airy, open riff.

Perhaps what I find most intriguing about Humo del Cairo’s Humo del Cairo is that its structure and full presence didn’t completely reveal itself on first listen, that I had to go back to it to gain a better idea of what the trio were trying to accomplish on their first full-length. I’m still not entirely sure I have the complete picture – in fact, I’m relatively certain I don’t – but please consider this review a springboard to your own experience with the album, should you choose to take it on and if you haven’t yet done so. What I do know is I was anticipating this release since it was announced the band were putting it out on MeteorCity, and given the future listens I feel are in store for it, I’m still in the same position of looking forward. Depending on the course of their development, these guys could prove to be considerable in the years to come.

Humo del Cairo on MySpace

MeteorCity

Tags: Argentina, Buenos Aires, Humo del Cairo, MeteorCity

This entry was posted on Monday, April 19th, 2010 at 4:40 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.