Decepciones – ECHOBELLY: Anarchy and Alchemy (2017)

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No es que ECHOBELLY fueran una de nuestras bandas favoritas en los maravillosos años noventa, pero sí que es cierto que tuvieron su momento de gloria y un puñado de canciones reseñables.
Lo que no es demasiado de recibo es que al albur de las resurrecciones y retornos de bandas de entonces algunas como ECHOBELLY se empeñen en subirse al carro con una serie de temas que para nada llegan al nivel de calidad media deseable. Me gustaría hablar algo más positivo de esta Anarquía y Química, pero de verdad que no encuentro demasiados argumentos. Algunos guitarrazos intensos por aquí y por allí, algunos despliegues vocales de la exhuberante Sonia Aurora y un par a lo máximo de temas digeribles. Lo demás es un vaivén de sonidos y canciones sin demasiada coherencia estilística ni musical.

“Guarding the entrance to Echobelly’s new collection of tracks is a fearsome opener and stomping single ‘Hey, Hey, Hey’. This song clearly marks their return with Johansson’s hypnotic blues rock riffs and Madan’s distinctive sultry vocals (with an added primal edge). On this track, this band is at times reminiscent of early PJ Harvey whilst capturing the glimmering light display of Echobelly’s core. The new drummer for this album is Ash Hall accompanied by bassist Oliver Kiernan. Both of them appear to be ‘nice enough’ session musician types with the latter touting Paul McCartney, Mel B and someone from The Kooks called Pete Denton on his credits.
‘Firefly’ continues the album at a similar pace, with a crunchy chugging bass riff that gives way to a more contrasting ethereal section that nudges previous Echobelly song structures like ‘Kali Yuga’ and ‘A Map Is Not The Territory’ found on 2001’s People Are Expensive. What starts to become clear from the second track onwards is this album showcases Madan’s vocal skills, which have developed one stage further, displaying more variation and showing off finesse like on ‘Firefly’ with its Arabian flirtations and ‘If The Dogs Don’t Get You’ with its rocketing “oohs” and somersaulting vocal attacks. Johansson’s guitar repertoire on the other hand has crystallised and continues to diversify with new tunings found on ‘Dead Again’ and ‘Faces In the Mirror’.
A lot of effort and final thought has gone into this album. Production surprises continue throughout like the springy vocal effect on ‘Molotov’ and variation in structure with ‘Autumn Angel’ being purely instrumental for the first segment, with delicate guitar rising from a hypnotic drone that turns into a distantly dulcet song. This paves the way for the concluding reflective post death track ‘Dead Again’. This is an album from a band that have been there and done it a few times, got bored, changed it up, run away, come back, swapped it up then become sophisticated and accomplished on their own terms with flair” (Drowned in Sound)

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