Power Trio from Argentina Delivers
Pablo Roncoroni | San Diego, CA United States | 07/06/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In their second studio release, Divididos finds its own sound and style, and delivers it with force. Ricardo Mollo, the band's lead singer and songwriter, demonstrates his versatility at composing blues, funk, reinterpreting Argentine folk music, or belting out hard rock. "Salir a Asustar," "Paisano de Hurlingham," and "Rasputin/Hey Jude," (a nod to Mollo's Beatles roots)leave you panting from sheer energy. "Ortega y Gases, "Salir a Comprar," and, "Tajo C" lean heavily toward bass-popping funk- the latter being a 'pass-the-helium' vocal, dedicated to famous Argentinian women. Traditional folk music styles are modernized into tunes like "Ortega y Gases," "Que Ves?," and, "Huelga de Amores." The lyrics range from social protest against Native-American subjugation ("Indio Deja el Mezcal," "Cristofalo Cacarnu," "Huelga de Amores")to the nonsensical (an acid-flash tinged "Dame Un Limon"). There's even a middle-eastern influenced instrumental ("Pestana de Camello" (Camel's eyelash) for those of you who appreciated the likes of Peter Gabriel's "Passion." Whatever your preference, Divididos' "la era de la boludez" runs the gamut. But mostly, be prepared for hard-driving rock a la Rush from Argentina's most prominent and unheralded power trio."