La Barranca

La Barranca has been a successful on going outfit for ever since 1994. Based in Mexico City they are led by guitarist and songwriter Jose Manuel Aguilera, who previously and concurrently worked with Sangre Asteka, Jaguares, Cecilia Toussaint, Steven Brown / Nine Rain (Tuxedomoon), and more. He has an unusually economical style of playing that concentrates on great rhythms, superb tone, and very melodic solos.

This 2nd edition of the band includes Santa Sabina (band) guitar virtuoso Alex Otaola and the extremely flexible rhythm section of Jose Maria and Alonso Arreola. The band effortlessly moves from flat out rock to fusion-ish jamming and passes through a kind of Mexican folk influence along the way.

Aguilera is a good singer with a talent for finding simple melodies amidst rather complex songs. On "El Fluir" the band decided to record live and to cut back on the keyboard and programmed additions to their music. Surprisingly, the result is not an over-the-top jamfest but rather a very tightly arranged set of songs that hint at the overwhelming power they will possess in concert. As always, the two guitar interplay between Aguilera and Otaola is not to be missed as they exhaust all forms of playing together and against one another (with Otaola pulling all sorts of radical sounds out of his guitar). "El Fluir" is their first US release since "Tempestad" in 1998. This edition is further sweetened by the inclusion of a previously unreleased bonus track and a video for the first single "Pare de Sufrir."

Their latest offering is Piedad Ciudad (2010, Fonarte, Fonca).