After nine years of admirable efforts to get a leg up in the local scene (demos, performing live, etc),
Vetusta Morla finally got their deserved reward with their release
Un Dia en el Mundo. Produced by their self-created label
Pequeno Salto Mortal ("Little Somersault"), this work contains a careful sound which is every bit as good as any international production. Starting with a remarkable instrumental harmony, this debut also shows the band's exceptional talents as musicians.
Vetusta Morla still stays away from a writing level comparable to, for example, the disbanded
Los Piratas' and, musically, despite the impeccable sound and mature rhythm structures, the album seems to remain in nowhere land: most of the songs are never quite hooky, nor do they have a rock kick, leaving them devoid of not necessarily a personal sound, but a bit of personality.
Pucho's voice, technically irreproachable, constantly sounds in falsetto, fitting in more with a different music style than their own.
"La Cuadratura del Circulo" and
"Al Respirar" are two great exceptions -- they're great, hooky rock and pop songs, respectively -- and
"Ano Nuevo" and
"Copenhague" are other good songs.
Un Dia en el Mundo is a worthy and promising debut album of rock/pop en espanol in the line of
Radiohead (listen to the similarity between
"Un Dia en el Mundo" and
Radiohead's
"My Iron Lung") but it oozes the same smell as many other art works: when the artist intends to convey a foreign inner spirit, a shred of artificiality and a lack of guts appear. El Quijote didn't act like
Shakespeare's Romeo; neither should
Vetusta Morla's music. ~ Alfonso Goiriz
