Review: Cholo Visceral - Vol II

I've been sitting on this one for a while and not exactly certain as to why...it's a fantastic slab of prog, jazz and psychedelia that is as compelling as it is eclectic. Cholo Visceral are a Peruvian collective who have undergone a great many of personnel changes. 'Vol II' was originally a Bandcamp download only but Tonzonen Records of Germany (a label that only seems to be getting better and better) have afforded it a well-deserved vinyl issue. It is one of those records that initially wrong foots the listener with its unique sounds and structures but, with repeated listens, becomes creative, intelligent and sonorous.

Opener ‘Explosión del Misti’ is a gargantuan number. The combination of guitar, saxophone and theremin, along with swift changes in tempo and structure, all go to create a anxiety-inducing atmosphere. It is this sometimes discordant approach that is the track's strength - it doesn't nail its colours to any genre mast but rather ploughs its own furrow with the band's creativity being foremost. It has that flash of chaotic genius that made the Colonel Petrov's Good Judgement album from last year such a revelation. ‘Muca’ is initially formed around a more traditional structure, with the intro sounding positively 'rock', but, as will become apparent on this journey, it's not that easy! Things take a turn and then another and then another; never satisfied with staying still. ‘Cholacos’ is the album's magnum opus at sixteen minutes long and ,as you would imagine, packed full of twists and turns and it rises and falls. The saxophone lends everything an air of melancholy that is countered by the sheer energy of the music....it's almost an album on its own! ‘Jarjacha’ affords us a moment of calm with its acoustic base and theremin. You are constantly on guard for a dramatic turn in events but the track pretty much remains an oasis of serenity amid the maelstrom of noise. ‘Cholo Visceral’ serves to waken us from the reverie brought about by ‘Jarjacha’. It is a track bedded deeply in dissonance and chaos but with an underlying charm..the dissonance is musical and cognitive and that all goes to form a track that creates panic and confusion in the listener and challenges all that they know about music. Its pretty damn powerful stuff! ’10 Años De Terror’ is another track with a melancholic air....like a despairing nod to the modern world. It has the signature inventive mix of instrumentation and structure with the keyboards playing a big part in creating the dystopian foreboding. The album is brought to a close with ‘El Paso Entre Los Lomas’ with it's interplay between piano and ethereal theremin...the piano creating a claustrophobic atmosphere that is partly dispelled by the fuzzy haziness of the theremin. It provides some form of closure to proceedings, a satisfying conclusion to the aural rollercoaster we have just been on.

'Vol II' is an immense body of work, driven by sheer energy and invention. If listened to on a superficial level it may appear disorganised and needlessly abstract, however with 'proper' listening it becomes a highly creative and satisfying album. The instrumentation is like a cordon blue recipe...put together precisely to create maximum impact and the musicianship is undeniable. In all it is a fantastic album in which the listener needs to be fully immersed to fully appreciate. Powerful stuff! The vinyl is available from Tonzonen (double album, 300 black & 200 blue and lush 180g cover) and the download is still available from the Cholo Visceral Bandcamp page here.