https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Friday Full-Length: Arenna, Beats of Olarizu

Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 13th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

Based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, which is the capital of Northern Spain’s autonomous Basque Country — if you’re American and you know the word ‘Basque,’ there’s a decent chance it’s followed by ‘separatist’ in your consciousness, since the movement there was years in bringing autonomy to fruition — Arenna issued their first demo in 2007 and followed it with their debut album, Beats of Olarizu (review here), in 2011. The Basque distinction is important to note, since Olárizu refers to a specific place as well: a meadow area, lake and hillside on the outskirts of Vitoria-Gasteiz that was a village centuries ago and now seems to serve mostly as parkland. A pastoral setting is likewise crucial toward understanding where Arenna were coming from with this album.

In terms of sheer style, Arenna — comprised then of drummer Guille, bassist Javi, vocalist Txus, and guitarists Kiké and R. Ruiz, plus guests on the album like Jony Moreno of The Soulbreaker Company on backing vocals for four of the six tracks and co-producer José López Gil on Hammond for “Eclipse,” plus Jaime Zuasti (Electric Riders) on keys for the second half of the tracklisting — were at the vanguard of a next generation of heavy psychedelic rock in Europe. One thinks of a band like Sungrazer in the Netherlands, who made their debut the year before, or then-Nasoni Records labelmates like Electric Moon and even Stoned Jesus — acts who began to flourish at the start of the 2010s and would begin to define heavy psych as a style in the wake of progenitors like Colour Haze or Spanish spearheads Viaje a 800.

The difference between Arenna and some of the biggest names of this generation of bands is productivity more than quality. Beats of Olarizu sounds raw these nine years later, and particularly in comparison to its more lush, proggier 2015 follow-up, Given to Emptiness (review here), but the roots of what they’d become are in the first record to be sure, and from the is-it-actually-playing-oh-okay-there-it-is patient start of opener “Morning Light,” Arenna made it clear they were working on no one’s time but their own. Fluid tempos, melodic reach, a rolling crunch to their tonality that would soften on some of the extended and jammier stretches in “Eclipse” (11:42) and closer “Metamorphosis in Ic [0,9168 g/cm³]” (19:08), there was still an edge of grunge to Txus‘ vocals and verses, but as “Morning Light” gave way to “Receiving the Liquid Writings,” it was clear that Arenna were onto a vibe that went beyond straightforward stoner/desert rock idolatry.

arenna beats of olarizuIn addition to its quiet start, “Morning Light” — though packed lyrically — doesn’t ever feel rushed in terms of its instrumental elements, and its last couple minutes take off into an airy concluding solo that sets a more open mood for everything that follows, so that even as “Receiving the Liquid Writings” starts out with an earthy shuffle its more spacious, layered-vocal midsection and jam-into-push-into-jam finish make sense. Likewise the boogie that defines “Fall of the Crosses,” which is the shortest cut on Beats of Olarizu at 5:09. It stays straightforward in its structure without even the partial departure of the song before it, but still carries that atmosphere set forth by the opener, and as Arenna shift to side B with “Eclipse,” that subtle establishing of psychedelic underpinnings comes to fruition in satisfying and decidedly switched-on ways.

Already noted, the guest Hammond from José López Gil does much to complement the acoustic guitar in the extended intro of “Eclipse,” and as the song makes its way into its full tonal launch, it does so with a readiness to shift back and forth in spirit and energy. This is essentially Arenna discovering the heavy psychedelia within their sound. It is a languid, flowing progression that is warm sounding and grooving in a way that builds toward an apex, is not still by any means, but neither gives any ground in terms of patience in its delivery. That is, Arenna are putting forth the vision that the first three tracks on Beats of Olarizu were driving toward, and it’s the impression that would come to define the album as a whole, and indeed, the band’s style as well.

“The Strangest of Lives,” beginning with wind and far-back drums, has the task of providing separation between “Eclipse” and “Metamorphosis in Ic [0,9168 g/cm³],” and as one might expect, it returns somewhat to ground in its basic composition. But note that the central riff still carries a swirl, as though residual from the song before, and that as the track moves through its second half, it ends up pushing even further into drift than “Eclipse” actually managed to go, essentially pulling itself down to rebuild along a course of hypnotic liquefaction. The big surprise is when it turns out to be a linear movement with its own payoff, but that advent is only welcome ahead of what’s to come in the side C-consuming “Metamorphosis in Ic [0,9168 g/cm³].”

Running 30:48 on the CD version of Beats of Olarizu and edited to the 19-plus of the digital/LP — still plenty — “Metamorphosis in Ic [0,9168 g/cm³]” is every bit the complex mathematical epic its title hints toward. Is this humanity becoming light? Is that the ‘c’ we’re talking about? If so, fair enough. The song never actually hits that kind of speed or space-rocking motorik-ness, but is plenty cosmic just the same, with an exploratory feel that only becomes more prevalent the longer it goes. A jam, in other words. It’s a jam. But with a resonance that extends beyond the instrumental chemistry on which it’s based, effects creating an atmosphere that continues as the longform drone at the finish takes hold, concluding at around 15 minutes.

Where you go from there depends on your format. The vinyl’s side D has the two tracks from Arenna‘s 2007 demo — “Pilgrimage” and “Yeah Man!” — and the meditative instrumental psych-piece “Pain Eraser.” The latter is included in the Bandcamp digital edition as well as a separate track, but on the CD it follows a few minutes of silence, bringing the total runtime of “Metamorphosis in Ic [0,9168 g/cm³]” to 30:48 and the whole of Beats of Olarizu to 68 minutes. Significant, particularly for a debut.

But one could say the same of Beats of Olarizu on the whole. As much of Spain’s heavy rock and psych legacy stems from the southern region of the country, in Algeciras, as well as in hotspots like Madrid, or Barcelona in the northeast, Arenna‘s take was immediately their own and distinct for its progressive flourish and prescient-in-hindsight nuance. The band hasn’t been heard from much since Given to Emptiness, but Txus released the solo album Ellis (review here) in 2019 under the moniker Doctor Sax, so there’s life out there somewhere.

As always, I hope you enjoy.

Thanks for reading.

These days are long. After the collective exhale that was the final (depends on whom you ask, apparently) result of the presidential election last week, an uptick in COVID-19 cases — over 160,000 new cases yesterday, according to the New York Times — has ensured that anxiety remains the defining feature of general existence. We’ve been back on self-imposed mostly-lockdown for the last two weeks or so. Minimal outings even to the grocery store — I’ve started getting stuff delivered — minimal interaction outside the immediate bubble. The Patient Mrs.’ family had a birthday party last weekend for her grandmother, who turned 94. There were eight people there including the three children — The Pecan and two older cousins — and it felt like an extravagance.

The Patient Mrs. still has to go to campus a couple days a week, but she reports no one really shows up to class and she rarely sees anyone around the office. We’re trying our best.

The Pecan still goes to preschool. I have to wonder how much longer that’s going to last.

That will be a whole new list of concerns, but either way, long days. With the last few weeks of the semester playing out toward an early end circa Thanksgiving, I haven’t seen much of The Patient Mrs. in the last month or so as she’s been working constantly, even at home, and I’ve had The Pecan. Omi, the dog, has largely been staying with my family, which seems to be to the benefit of all, including them and especially the dog herself, who hangs out and snuggles and plays with the dogs there and oddly enough seems much happier there than she is being stuck in the kitchen, getting smacked by The Pecan or yelled at by me for biting or pissing on the floor as she is/was here. She’s still “our dog” in the sense of being registered at this address, and I’m fairly certain we’ll be paying to have her spayed, but she’s been lodging up with my mother and sister and that’s been just fine all around.

New Gimme Metal show today at 5PM: http://gimmemetal.com

You know the drill there. Thanks for listening if you do. I didn’t talk this episode because I’m tired of saying the same shit and listening to myself drone on about how this or that band is awesome. Blah blah blah. My voice.

Next week… starts with a Samsara Blues Experiment premiere. That’ll be good. Then some Cloud Catcher, Grayceon, Morpholith, Vessel of Light. Should be fun. Busy, like always.

Speaking of, I might need to sneak in an extra Quarterly Review before December. My desktop is getting pretty full of records needing writeups and, well, might as well make the most of it.

Also considering doing an end-of-2020 questionnaire along the lines of the Days of Rona series earlier this year. Still putting together questions for it before I send them out. If you have any suggestions, please drop a comment here.

Beyond that, I wish you a great and safe weekend. Have fun, hydrate, be safe, be safe, be safe, wear a mask, eat some leafy greens, do good work and try to be nice. If you need anything from my end, you know where to find me.

Thanks for reading.

FRM.

The Obelisk Forum

The Obelisk Radio

The Obelisk merch

Tags: , , , , ,

Arenna Want to Go for a Ride in New Video

Posted in Bootleg Theater on July 12th, 2012 by JJ Koczan

Released last year by Nasoni, the debut full-length from Spanish rockers Arenna, Beats of Olarizu (review here), was warm and engaging. It seems like the five-piece took those ideas to heart. They’ll be playing Stoned from the Underground in Germany this weekend (more info at their Facebook), and to mark the occasion, they’ve just released their first video, for the song “Fall of the Crosses.”

And in it, basically what you get is a bike ride. Popping a tape (awesome) into a Walkman (I totally had that same one; I bought it at Caldor), our friendly beardo protagonist presses play to start the song and soon sets off on a ride through what looks like beautiful rural Spain, winding up at a garage where — well, I don’t want to spoil it for you. Suffice it to say that the video, though simple, is an excellent extension of the unpretentious wholesomeness the band put forth on the album. Here’s hoping they kill it in Germany this weekend.

Enjoy “Fall of the Crosses”:

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,