In the music of the Meridian Brothers, you can hear surf and circus, sixties and seventies, theatre and politics, space age and stone age.
The Residents raised at the foot of the Andes and produced by Joe Meek? A mixture of cumbia and Captain Beefheart, psychedelic pop (there are some melodies with great hooks) and found sound, and electronica as if it had just been invented. Leading this strange tango through his recent songbook is Eblis Álvarez, the only actual member of Meridian Brothers. He’s no Gilberto Gil, his voice is friendly but pale, but he can hold a tune well enough and his oddball stylings more than make up. Devoción features highlights from his latest three albums, previously only available on a domestic label.
Àlvarez is held in high esteem back home in Bogotá, where early in the century he a joined a generation of young Colombians intent on restructuring the region’s tropical folklore and African-influenced currulao, combining that rich legacy with a stint at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and Danish Institute of Electronic Music, where he familiarized himself with increasingly sophisticated technology. Traditional music is only the hopping off point, like rock’n’roll was for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. In the music of the Meridian Brothers, you can hear surf and circus, sixties and seventies, theatre and politics, space age and stone age.
Obviously an entire dimension is lost on the non-Spanish speaker, because Àlvarez’ lyrics are lengthy and, judging from the titles, surreal. As an introduction, Devoción amuses and occasionally amazes, a generous and singular seventy-four minutes.
Devoción is available on Staubgold.
