Agüeros

One accusation that cannot be fired at Colombia’s Sonoras Mil, the project of Felipe Gómez Ossa, is a lack of ambition. Opening tracks like ‘Allí Fui Feliz, Sólo Que Nunca Lo Supe’ and ‘Todxs Somos Raskolnikov’ are heavy on chanted vocals, repetitive grooves and heavy dub basslines, a worldly matrimony not too dissimilar than that envisaged by Mano Negra. ‘Cabalística (Give Me Some Cueros)’ is the finest of this batch, with an electric organ giving it swing and the vocals not too in-your-face.

If there is some kind of psych-dub-rock unity on the first half of the album, the remainder takes no such stance: ‘Fascinaciones’ is a murky, beguiling melody with a striking similarity to Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’, ‘La Libertad del Vagabundo Se Confundió Con el Deseo’ is angular rock with industrial percussion and ‘Tonada de Bienvenida y Despedida’ a folk singalong built around acoustic guitar. Each song brings a different environment, though the energy and enthusiastic presence of Ossa is always there, along with deep basslines that anchor many of the songs, and this does bring some cohesion, even if a little more focus on songcraft rather than dynamics could see Sonoras Mil come into their own.