Mexican duo Lorelle Meets the Obsolete return during these dark October days with their seventh album. It’s sung mostly in Spanish and should be filed under uneasy listening. Mashing up electronic shadings with washes of noisy psych and shoegaze, it is a tough record to put your arms around. They’ve been compared to Primal Scream, but I’d also toss in Sonic Youth in parts. Opening track ‘Regresar / Recordar’ (To Remember / To Return) is the lengthy first single, with warped sonics surrounding brighter sounding melodic textures. ‘Ker’ veers closer to post-punk and has a chilly, fuzzed out vibe to it. It could be soundtracked in a dystopian sci-fi movie! But it’s actually about the struggles women have reclaiming rights over their own bodies.
‘Dilación’ is a good-bye to those who have passed. Its primal percussion and bass reminds me of early Comsat Angels, and with Loreena Quintanilla’s ethereal voice wafting over this minimalist arrangement, it’s a haunting send-off. ‘Casi no estar’ (almost not being) delves into the disappearances and femicides of women currently occurring in Mexico. The metronomic rhythm is a stark contrast to Loreena’s fragile vocals. ‘Palabra’ has an inviting synth line with a neo psych slant to the overall arrangement. Yet, the trippiness frames a chaotic stew of busy synths and has the listener on edge when it starts to wind down. ‘Riesgo’ verges on industrial noise, and is unrelenting as it scrolls out to five minutes.
‘Reanimar el cuerpo’ is a sensual journey inspired by Italian Marxist philosopher Franco Berardi’s idea of poetry as a hidden resource that allows us to shift from one paradigm to another. It repeats the trippy motifs of earlier songs, yet is surrounded by a simple melodic framework. Musical elements are added and it morphs into something from another plane of existence. ‘Control’ is the final song here, sung partly in English, and it emerges with a sonic haze and whispered vocals. It is the most accessible tune in this song suite.
The band has returned triumphantly with this challenging and cool record. Highly recommended in these dystopian times!
