Elrío

El Corazón del Río

The new release from the “mixed musical arts” project, continues to showcase a lack of uniqueness, despite the wide color palette they have at their disposal.

Tijuana is host to an infinity of musical projects, which encompass an endless number of styles; however, the common denominator seems to be alternative music and its offshoots, such as electronic, rock, pop and -to a lesser extent- the experimental field. Other genres such as trova, jazz, salsa or folklore in general, have a presence, limited to specific spaces and events; the coexistence of these two fields is almost null, although there are certain projects that are capable of oscillating in and out, thanks to their versatility as musicians. An example would be the sophisticated pop of Entre Desiertos, which truly fuses styles ranging from progressive rock, jazz, cumbia, etc. Another point in favor of this group, is the ability they have to deconstruct their songs and give them new life; they can present a song with an orchestra, or a raw and noisy version, depending on the venue in which they are performing. However deformed or unrecognizable the result is, the band manages to keep their essence intact.

Why would this review begin by talking about another band’s accomplishments? Simple: Elrío represents the total opposite.

This ensemble of “mixed musical arts” seems to have acceptance only within the Bohemian circles, those where fedoras, sandals and Ché Guevara t-shirts reign supreme, since it’s in these where purity is more celebrated than innovation, as it is seen as a desperate attempt to seek acceptance of pop culture. In the alternative music circuit, Elrío are still not able to carve their niche, precisely because of this infatuation with the traditional: being victims of tradition has kept them from being able to expand their audience to other sectors. And it is not that one [musical] world is better than the other; naturally, both sides -folkloric and modern- have their fair share of figureheads who seek progress as well as those who only get stuck within the idiomatic paradigms of whichever musical field they practice. Unfortunately, this is the case of Elrío, because they fail to provide some kind of discernible advancement for any of the musical arts they play.

The problem is not within the music itself -it is not that bad- but it simply lacks personality. There is nothing that can be completely linked to Elrío as an entity apart from their influences, and after three albums, one cannot help wondering what the intention behind this band is. Although each instrument is executed with precision, and the knowledge of each member is evident, everything results in compositions that are not as rich or diverse as the group likes to promote.

The band plays a different style in each song, demonstrating their versatility, but it comes off as a half-assed achievement. It is easy to state "this will be our cumbia and this will be our metal song" (no, there’s no metal on the album), and if the musicians are talented -as is the case- they will be able to move from one genre to another with no problem; the real challenge is to be able to take from different sources in order to sculpt something new. Everything that the band presents feels as if it were manufactured in separate production lines, and the few instances where Elrío seems to try their luck at piecing together something they can call their own, the songs end up suffering. There is a synthesizer present in two tracks ("Vamos a Cantar" and "Todos") and the chemistry it has with the organic instrumentation is almost non-existent.

This causes El Corazón del Río to end up sounding like a simple pastiche -as literal as its cover art- of the most basic elements from the genres they borrow from; although everything is played proficiently, the pieces sound like below-average replicas of other artists’ work: "Cumbia Sin Sol" sounds like filler from some Los Angeles Azules album. As good as the bass line in "Cada Vez" is, we can find similar dynamics in any band with a slight inclination towards a ska sound; in the end, the style is too similar to what La Maldita Vecindad or Pantheon Rococó did in their prime. "Vamos a Cantar" gallops awkwardly over four minutes with a very similar feel to "No Hay Nadie Como Tú" or any Elefante or Los Fabulosos Cadillacs track. The sense of deja vu is devastating.

Although the band could argue that their influences come from a more sophisticated and academic underground world, far from popular music, the problem will remain on how they shape and present their ideas. As long as they keep approaching their pieces with so little regard for actual progress, listening to Elrío will continue to have the same impact as that of a preset song on a CASIO keyboard. There are details within the songs composition and production that are quite pleasant, and although they are not many, they are effective and allow us to see that the group could give (much) more; nonetheless, the album’s biggest flaw is that Elrío simply fails to deliver something unique, despite the wide color palette they have at their disposal.

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