Friday Full-Length: Atavismo, Desintegración
Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 12th, 2021 by JJ KoczanNot that you would need an excuse, mind you, but Atavismo were recently confirmed as taking part in next May’s Kristonfest in Madrid (info here) and next month I’ll be hosting a premiere for a new single they’re releasing as part of Spinda Records‘ mind-boggling Grados. Minutos. Segundos. compilation box set, so I guess the band have been on my brain in the way a band might be when you see there name a bunch of times in a row.
Andalusian heavy rockers Viaje a 800 released their final album, Coñac Oxigenado (review here), through Alone Records in 2012, and two years later, founding member Jose “Poti” Moreno resurfaced on guitar, vocals, mellotron, farfisa and theremin alongside drummer/backing vocalist Sandra Pow (Mind!), also mellotron/farfisa, and bassist/backing vocalist Mateo in Atavismo with the 2014 album Desintegración (review here), the four songs of which saw immediate release through Odio Sonoro on CD with an LP out in 2015 on Temple of Torturous. The link between Viaje a 800 and Atavismo via Moreno isn’t really crucial to know in terms of appreciating the later act’s work, but it’s helpful to note that their pedigree includes one of Spain’s most essential heavy bands, and to understand the shift in direction that Atavismo brought about. Because although Moreno‘s former outfit certainly had their psychedelic and progressive moments, the reshuffling of sonic priorities was plain to hear throughout Desintegración and was an immediately distinguishing factor — from members’ past work as well as the universe at large.
Though representative of some of the organic and folkish underpinnings that pervade the sound, the Antonio Ramirez cover art does precious little to convey just how bright and colorful Desintegración‘s four songs actually are, whether it’s the buildup across the 11 minutes of opener “Blazava,” or the melodic burst around the five-minute mark into “Oceánica” (8:17). Between those two, “Kraken” taps into a deceptively lush take on ’60s-era psychedelia, finding room in a mix led by acoustic and electric guitars to include any number of swirls and effects to fill out its own created space, and bookending as the finale, the 10-minute “Meeh” highlights a meditative procession marked out by the drums and the bass as the guitar drifts in and out around a memorable figure, culminating in a masterfully crafted wash that’s heavy and gorgeous and patient in kind.
All told, Desintegración runs a rather unassuming 37 minutes, but in that time each song offers something of its own while maintaining the overarching flow of the entirety. “Blazava” — and this will probably like hyperbole until you actually listen to the thing — comes across less like a standalone piece than an intro for Atavismo‘s entire career. At 11:24, it’s the longest track on the album, and where “Oceánica” and “Meeh” demonstrate the extent to which vocals are a strength of the band
in arrangement as well as performance, the leadoff is entirely instrumental. And it works more or less on a single linear build, starting out with fading-in effects across its first minute-plus and gradually taking shape like the band just happened to wander in the room one at a time and pick up their instruments and do this.
That’s a simplification, of course. The movement of “Blazava” is more dynamic and its layers of guitar are more thoughtfully constructed as the song weaves through one apex en route to its final crescendo — but the vibe is so natural that it’s almost too easy to be subsumed. Hypnotic, but through more than just repetition. “Kraken,” to compare, is markedly straightforward. After the last crashes and thuds and residual swirls of “Blazava” twist into the second track, the electric, multi-layered strum of “Kraken” feels up front. Mellotron and other elements join and the album’s first verse begins with nearly a third of its runtime already past. Doesn’t even matter. The truth is that by the time the vocals come around, you’re already with the drift or you’re not. And you should be, lest you miss out on the not-quite-subtle-but-not-overblown push later in the track; the fuzzy bass almost tapping a Beatles “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” feel while the guitar and drums do jazzy laps until finally coming together around a redux of the central riff. It’s relatively short at 6:45, but no less of a journey, and clearly that’s the intention.
I’m not inclined to pick favorites, but the out-wandering-in-the-sun breadth of “Oceánica” is beautiful, with at least Moreno and Pow on vocals over quiet guitar, bass and effects, and the payoff that the song provides is singular. “Blazava” has its back and forth, and “Kraken” and “Meeh” both hit peaks as well, but what happens 4:56 into “Oceánica” is striking in a way of its own. It’s more diving-in-headfirst than crashing-wave, if you want to keep it to watery analogies, but in any case, it is cool and refreshing and it well earns the comedown that eventually follows. In most circumstances, such a thing would turn “Meeh” into an automatic epilogue, but the 10:32 finale works its own magic, distinct in mood from the prior track and anything before it on Desintegración while still lush in melody, languid in groove and reliable in its ultra-organic build. The trio end with a crash and a cymbal wash and a thud, as they might bring down a live set, and in accordance with that mentality, they leave their audience wanting more.
2017’s Inerte (review here) and 2018’s Valdeinfierno EP (review here), as well as other odds and ends and tours, carried the band forward in sound and style, pushing deeper into prog as they went. In 2018, Viaje a 800 made an appearance at SonicBlast Moledo in Portugal and followed that with a slot at Spinda Fest the next year, but Atavismo are active, as noted above, and in early 2020 they noted work underway on their next full-length. Whatever their plans were in that regard were no doubt changed by events beyond their control, but I’ve been more hopeful about less likely stuff than the band putting something out in 2022, so if you don’t mind I’ll keep that pleasant thought in my head for a while until such a thing either does or doesn’t happen.
But this one, in the meantime, was only a joy to revisit. I hope you feel the same.
Thanks for reading.
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Kind of a chaotic week on my end. A lot of posts. Seven on Wednesday alone. I’d been averaging four for the last however long, but with the glut of returns on my last requests for Questionnaires, touring starting up again, and fest announcements like Desertfest New York today, it’s been a push to keep up even to the minimal extent that I have. I’ve already got a bunch of stuff slated for Monday as well, including an Iah review, which I’d wanted to do this week and had to push back because Tuesday was a wreck already.
Blah blah blah.
The Patient Mrs. is at a conference until Sunday, which is the primary reason I’m not going to Doom & Brews III in Connecticut tonight and tomorrow. I’m thrice vaccinated. I’d wear a mask. These are friends. So it goes. When I signed on to be a full-time parent, that’s the kind of tradeoff I was making, I guess. People have to miss shit for work all the time. Why should I be any different?
The Pecan has been alright though, just him and me. The last few weeks he’s been bucking hard, pushing boundaries, pressing buttons, mad. He straight up threw a punch at me the other day. Not one of his leg-flail kicks or a bite or a pinch, like he wound up and punched. Over some bullshit like putting on socks. I don’t even remember. I was like, “for this, you punch me?”
I went off the other night on him, said we could be the best friends in the world, but he doesn’t listen. He goes, “Like Frog and Toad?” I said, “Yeah man, we could be like Frog and Toad, hanging out, having a good time.” He had had a fit that morning over going to school or something and pinched and hit and tried to bite, and he just loses it. I held him off and then later in the day when he was doing it again, I yelled and held him down and we both just wound up on the kitchen floor trying to take deep breaths and calm down. I said I’d work on being more patient and he agreed to work on listening. Nothing of course is permanent that regard, for either of us most likely, but yesterday was comparatively pleasant. We went to a park in the afternoon, played in some leaves.
He’s at school now and it’s raining. Today’s The Patient Mrs.’ payday (I bought a Sasquatch shirt) and we need house stuff, so we’ll spend most of the afternoon running errands. Wegmans first, then back home to drop off groceries, then Costco for ALL THE PAPER TOWELS IN THE WORLD, then maybe hit Target for a return, then a sneaky loop around to Dick’s Sporting Goods to see if they have any wrist weights that might fit me (I’ve been wearing ankle ones all day while doing stuff around the house; calved of steel), then, if they didn’t have one at Costco, a new Burr grinder from Bed, Bath and Beyond, as my coffee grinder’s fritzing seems to be terminal.
It’s a busy afternoon. I’ll bring peanut butter crackers and the fruit pouches he likes in the car, maybe a bar of some sort. Then home for dinner, the usual round of pre-bedtime tv and brush teeth ritual, maybe go see The Patient Mrs.’ sister and mom in Connecticut tomorrow, let him run around someone else’s house for a while since it’s supposed to rain again. We’ll see.
He doesn’t know the Connecticut part yet. If you say it out loud, it needs to happen and I’m not sure yet on the plan. Right now it’s pouring so hard that I don’t want to go three minutes to the grocery store let alone two hours to New England. Plus I’d feel kind of sad being that close to Doom & Brews and still unable to attend. Again, we’ll see. There are arguments for and against.
Whatever you’re up to, I hope you have a great and safe weekend. I’ll be writing Monday stuff and trying to get a jump on the week, so if you need me shoot a message or an email or whatever and I’ll do my best to get back.
Have fun, watch your head, hydrate, enjoy Fall if it’s Fall where you are. This is my favorite season.
Thanks for reading.
FRM.
