Mr. Saldos

Reminiscencias

The Ensenada noise-pop band’s latest release is not exactly the work of a more mature band, but it does manage to showcase their versatility when it comes to mood setting.

That a band manages to summarize the intention -or the concept- of their album with a good title is rare, but Mr. Saldos achieves the almost impossible with their new EP, taking into account that these songs are very reminiscent (wink, wink) to the sound of many other bands under the noise-pop, shoegaze or dream-pop labels, Reminiscencias seems like a pretty accurate album title.

The liner notes indicate that, compared to their previous works, this EP shows a more mature side of the band; however, this only seems to hint at the fact that the songs now feel more lethargic and ominous. What Mr. Saldos previously presented leaned on the more energetic side of shoegaze, the one that has always caused controversy among its purists (that's britpop, not shoegaze!). This only shows a different shade of the band, but not necessarily a more mature one; they’re yet to fully let go from the highly-recognizable sound of their influences.

It should be noted that none of the four tracks are bad -in fact, there are many details in terms of structure and composition that exalt their quality- but after a first listen, the dynamics, the cadences and the voice could make one think that Nothing or Slowdive are the ones sounding out of our speakers; if we were to put Estrella (Mint Field) to serve as a vocalist, the first two tracks would sound like variations of "Sing". Speaking of the voice, the amount of reverb that it is drenched in, reaches almost co(s)mic levels. Yes, this is an important element within the aesthetics of the genre, but the meme of lyrical illegibility is taken to the extreme.

Mr. Saldos manages to break some barriers though -even if it’s just a bit- and with enough effort, a distant Duster, as well as a diluted Bardo Pond, can be seen in the background struggling to be noticed. The latter can be especially noticeable in the last two pieces, which have that lysergic dark and noisy feel that has always distinguished the Pennsylvania quintet. In "Entre el Sueño y la Vigilia" the band intersperses the oneiric with the tempestuous in a track that shines thanks to its melodic base: an engaging crescent bass line that brilliantly marks the beat with notes that have ample space between each other, creating a feeling of tension as we await for the line to resolve. “Muy Lejos” closes the EP in a languid state that feels more redundant than it feels hypnotic; however, we’re rewarded with an exciting hidden track, which manages to send us off on a high note

As previously stated, Reminiscencias is not exactly the work of a more mature band, but it does manage to showcase Mr. Saldos' versatility when it comes to mood setting, even if this is only noticeable from album to album. If they could present different moods in a coherent way under the same LP, it would have the potential to become a mandatory point of reference for the genres they play. However, Mr. Saldos does not give the impression of being the main project of any of its members, so the feeling that it conveys is that of simply being a meeting point where four friends gather to express their love for the act of looking at their footwear while making beautiful noise.

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