Album Review: Las Cobras - Temporal (Fuzz Club Records)
"Temporal", by South American duo Sofía Aguerre and Leandro Rebellato, aka Los Cobras, starts off horribly with a cheesy synth snippet which mercifully dies away before the minute mark, however, when this is replaced with an 80s reverb drenched drum machine you are fearing the worst. Thankfully REM "Monster" era guitars come in, a glorious floating vocal responds and "Beating Hard" is cranked, the head is nodding, the foot is tapping and this is showing a lot of promise. "The Time Has Come" is reminiscent of mid 90’s Primal Scream and their duets with Kate Moss like "Some Velvet Morning". Rhythmic, hypnotic, pulsating, sexual. Actually, its probably even more reminiscent of the Velvet Underground.
The album continues with "Our Love Will Grow", a glorious groove of dirt and trash that splatters across the clean beat that drives it. It soon becomes apparent that this is not a band with sing along choruses but a beat driven groove machine whose tempo doesn’t alter a great deal and in todays day and age this is a good thing. It is not a greatest hits record, it is not a collection of songs but a proper album, you start at the beginning and end at the finish.
The tribalesque "Al Más Allá" briefly threatens some kind of semi minimalism but 2 minutes in the band enters to lift the song but the main theme is not deterred and continues, fighting the music for its right to remain unchanged, like i said, tribal. "Paranoid Android" this is not, and to be honest, I think i speak for absolutely everybody when I say we are simple people who like our music to be simple and noddable. "Nothing Against You" is as close as we get to simple pop. A beautiful piece of ear candy that sounds so familiar you wonder if its a cover. Maybe it is, i couldn’t be bothered to Google it. I hope it isn’t, the tuneless melody works quite delightfully, if Tarantino is reading, I’ve found your next US diner scene soundtrack, “Hands Up, This is a Robbery!!!!!!”
After that brief interlude normal service is resumed. A horrifically nasty bass line introduces us to "So Much Love", a never ending loop with a delayed spooky conversation set upon it. The antithesis of "Nothing Against You", this is music for GIFs, and despite what that phrase actually sounds like, it works quite nicely. "Same & Again" is, um, same again, although the vocals become more sparse and we suddenly get some musicianship, a beautiful delayed guitar solo followed by a doors like organ solo and the song ends to be replaced by temporal, the title track. What is this bucking of conventions? The title track at the end? I’m not sure I am having that but its not my choice and I soon realise why it has been relegated to album closer. At seven minutes long it is far longer than any other track and I’m wondering if it will feel as much out of place as that other seven minute album closer "I am the Resurrection" by those Mancunian scallywags The Stone Roses. Actually, it doesn’t, it keeps the formula, albeit for 3 minutes longer than the rest of the record.
And so it ends, an atmospheric trip into an Andy Warhol inspired bar. For those who like the Velvet Underground, you shouldn’t even be reading this review, you should already be running down the street to your nearest record shop to buy this (or download it in your underwear, your call) but for the rest of us it is a hugely satisfying experience. A sonically beautiful sound, the guitars are gorgeous, the voice of Sofia sits well above the more sinister baritone of Leandro and together there is a feeling of comfort nestled beneath the uncomfortableness. It is a hypnotic, swirling whirlpool of a record that grooves rather than soars, digs rather than floats and nods rather than slams. A delightful debut.
Rating: 8 / 10
Words: Gordon Haswell
