Pablo Naranjo – El Ultimo Hombre
How much of the world should you see if you get the chance? Every inch of it. Do it if you can, not because you hope that remarkable secrets will be given to you. Do it, first and foremost, because it will erase some of the preconceptions you have of the world.
Sure, we are more interconnected than ever before. But you won’t be able to tell just by sitting in your bedroom, surfing the web on your phone. You won’t make sense of what’s going on in music from listening to bands on the Billboard Hot 100 either.
The world is made up of ancient legends, of strange customs, and it is populated by people that don’t live life like the ones that American producers feature on Netflix comedies. Culture is reinterpreted across the world, it is given new meaning, it is imbued with a unique pace.
That’s how we arrive at a Latin pop-rock song about North European Vikings made by musicians living in Australia. Like you, dear reader, there was little stopping Pablo Naranjo from exploring the mysteries of the world. The vehicle the artist has found for doing this is gentle pop music. “El Ultimo Hombre” is a soundtrack to a historic drama waiting to happen.
Lucifer Sunshine – My Immunity
Every era has given birth to particular musical sounds and styles. Most of them didn’t survive infancy. Bringing them up once in a while only serves to make the people who championed those styles laugh awkwardly. From dubstep to Europop and to disco, pop music has been all about creating trends that made an immediate impact and disappeared just as quickly.
One of the few exceptions is the music of the 1960s. It’s not one style in particular, but rather an attitude. This music, filled with good vibes, hazy dreams and musical experimentation, is still revered the world over. Many bands are taking an intimate interest in it. They aren’t trying to recreate the sounds of the 60s, but, rather to make-believe they’ve managed to live in those times once again.
Sweden’s Lucifer Sunshine’s cut-off point for pop music interests is 1968. They’re interested in the Summer of Love, and the menacing clouds Altamont. Lucifer Sunshine study 60s pop groups in the way that the kids who go to fancy music conservatories study the classical composers. “My Immunity” is a really pretty pop-rock piece containing swirling melodies, sweet harmonies and dreamlike lyrics. It’s not about hanging on to the past, but seeing if it can be done over, better.
