Kanaku y El Tigre
Quema Quema Quema
Tiger’s Milk
This is Kanaku y El Tigre’s second outing, and the Peruvian band’s first release outside their native country. But don’t let the band’s South American origin fool you – despite vocalist Nico Saba’s delivery in Spanish, it’s a heady mix of psychedelia, pop, folk and electronics that sounds quite unlike anything else but fits nicely on your playlist between Of Montreal, Squarepusher, Calexico, and the Spinto Band.
The band has a flair for the musically dramatic, and the title track (presented twice, bookending the album with English and Spanish versions) quickly eludes categorization, with its Tom Waits-in-the-desert vibe, a dark dusty carnival rolling into the edge of town in the dead of night. Saba’s voice is often plaintive, and the band makes great use of backing vocals and a wide range of instruments to give each song a unique sound, and the occasional guest vocalist, like Leonor Watling on “Pulpos”, provides counterpoint to Saba’s lonesome yowl.
Quema, Quema, Quema is one of those albums that can play on repeat for a long time, gently pulling you through an astounding collection of sounds and parts that slowly coalesce into songs, then dissolve back into a complete experience. Like Peter Gabriel’s So, there are layers on layers to explore here. It took five years for Kanaku y El Tigre to follow up on their debut album, Caracol – I’m seriously hoping it won’t take as long for the next one.
Kanaku y El Tigre: https://soundcloud.com/kanakuyeltigre
