Recorded and released in DIY fashion by Néstor Ayala Cortés in Santiago, Chile, …And We Leave the Planet? is the third full-length from the solo-project Some Pills for Ayala, which began some time after Cortés‘ prior outfit, At Devil Dirt, faded out. The guitarist/vocalist/bassist/maker-of-drum-sounds-likely-programmed works in territory that will be familiar enough to those who took on At Devil Dirt‘s melodic wall o’ fuzz when the getting was good, but Some Pills for Ayala is able to dig into some noisier vibes like the Helmet-meets-“Symphony of Destruction” chug in “Counting Clouds” after the declarative opener “You Are Dead,” the earliest-QOTSA bassy turn “I Am Right” takes and fleshes out with organ, or the subsequent “The Pilot Knows… And We Leave the Planet?,” with its languid version of space rock push in the drumming and characteristic depth of tone. Cortés has been exploring various modes of heavycraft for at least the last 15 years. He is no stranger to doing this kind of work, and he does it on his own terms without compromises or outside input. Further, and specifically as regards …And We Leave the Planet?, he notes in the release info, “By the way, the whole album was made by a human being, there is no fucking AI in this work.”

Fair enough. Since he brought it up, I’ll note that the cover art indeed looks like it was made with AI — it’s credited to Pedro Ayala — but I’ve been wrong before, so don’t quote me. In any case, it would be hard to accuse …And We Leave the Planet? of lacking humanity. Whether it’s the hooky self-harmonies of “I Am Right” or a more expansive roll like that which “No Third Eye” conjures in its layered-vocal midsection, a cosmic stoner blowout like “Be Away” or something more desert grunge in “This is Where We Stand,” speaking to a live-band energy without, obviously, being that thing and hitting harder than some of what features elsewhere. As the penultimate consideration, “Be Away” is outright molten in its procession, sounding like the amps were melting as they were being recorded. And yes, the production is somewhat raw.

That’s been the case for Cortés‘ work since At Devil Dirt, and three albums deep into Some Pills for Ayala‘s evolution, it feels like both an aesthetic decision and a practical reality of self-recording. The good news is that the balance between clarity and fullness of sound with an organic, live feel is an asset working in …And We Leave the Planet?‘s favor. Druggy enough to suit the name of the project in some of the post-Alice in Chains vocal drawl, Some Pills for Ayala is able to come across as all the more dug in for the compact affect throughout. It feels like being squeezed through a tube, so it must be compression.

Set next to 2023’s Sleep Walkers (review here), it’s not really until the closer “Last Chance” that Cortés really mellows out in the spirit of that record’s title-track, say, but the second LP had plenty of elbows to throw around during its course and the third LP functions much the same in its intent. Corresponding to this is the growth in songwriting that allows Some Pills for Ayala to simultaneously evoke notions of barebones-DIY-fuzz-punk and headmelt atmospherics, subdued and contemplative in places like the start of “No Third Eye” to offset the bassy pull in “You Are Dead,” or taking the time to establish the guitar line in “The Pilot Knows… And We Leave the Planet?,” or even just to bring such a feeling of spaciousness in the mix so that as the tones shift from all-consuming heft to more entrancing open-reach psychedelia as that same semi-title-track does, and that boils down to the chief distinguishing factor between Some Pills for Ayala and what Cortés had done before.

There’s a clearness of purpose in the creative voice behind this album that gives it a sense of maturity even as it retains the spirit of something more barebones. It’s not garage-doom exactly, and it’s not like it was taped on a phone in a rehearsal space, but for what was likely a process of piecing these songs together painstakingly, one layer at a time over the I-assume-programmed drums, Some Pills for Ayala is able to convey a band-persona despite being wrought by a single creativity.

Maybe an easier way to say that is Cortés is able to employ more than one songwriting modus, and so different songs are chasing after different goals in terms of tempo, mood, or expression more broadly. A solo-project honing a sense of diversity across a collection of eight songs isn’t a huge surprise — it’s kind of what one would hope for, at least in most situations. And …And We Leave the Planet? delivers almost immediately as the big swing of “You Are Dead” with its weirdo spoken break and later thud, and the comparatively upbeat starts and stops of “Counting Clouds” lead the listener into the record’s crux, drawn from decades of influence in heavy rock and able to drift in “No Third Eye” without letting go of the structure beneath.

The arrangements of the vocals are a factor in the resultant feeling of ‘a plan at work’ across the album’s utterly manageable 38-minute span, but Cortés is still exploring as well, and the melodies on keys and voice in “I Am Right,” the thrust of backbeat for “The Pilot Knows… And We Leave the Planet?” and the ethereal turn at the end with “Last Chance” all speak to that aspect of what makes …And We Leave the Planet? feel so vibrant.

The closer brings into emphasis the important role a malleable mix has played throughout, and if the studio is becoming another instrument in Cortés‘ veteran hands, so much the better for how the adventure of Some Pills for Ayala might continue. As it stands with this late-2024 offering, Cortés occupies a place very much his own in style, executing with soul and a lack of pretense songs that range deep in character and tone alike. I know the robots are getting pretty good at stuff, but the humanity of the music was never in question here.

Some Pills for Ayala, …And We Leave the Planet? (2024)

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 21st, 2025 at 2:15 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.