We close Rock Day with a Chilean band making an impressive TSJ debut…
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[7.12]
Alfred Soto: A quiet, courtly ballad, closer to tropicalia in its verses until this Chilean band gives the chorus the full-throated treatment. Perfect for late summer consumption — and seduction.
[7]
Megan Harrington: The muted drums and treacly keys rock ever so gently; the strings and sweaty vocals are a melodramatic counterbalance. It’s a love song, that much is obvious without a translation, and all its wide eyed pleas and confessions are strangled by production that says, “shh, keep it cool.” The head and the heart, life’s eternal struggle-makers.
[7]
Juana Giaimo: To say that this is the first time Ases Falsos have released a love song would be forgetting about the flawless “Pacífico“. However, while in the latter Cristobal Briceño was telling a story, he is now pouring his heart out. That’s maybe why he first sings shyly, showing that he is not used to this kind of songwriting — but as soon as he sees how gratifying it is, no one can stop him.
[8]
Brad Shoup: So much care was spent in supporting the vocalist… the vibraphones, strings, guitar: they all tremble just as he trembles, often in the exact same rhythm. It’s still pretty much a white-knight kind of text, writing lots of checks that his flow is about to overdraw.
[5]
Anthony Easton: The dexterousness of the vocals and the fast pick of the guitar make this sound less of a ballad and more an example of technique, but it is exquisite technique.
[7]
W.B. Swygart: Sometimes, it really is the weirdest thrill when someone just takes a wee bit of care in arranging things, and someone’s taken a whole lot of care with this one. The last two-and-a-bit minutes is full of pinpricks and tingles, as he starts rushing and the song starts rushing with him, pulling open the space thencrushingitalluptogetheragain, and then at around three minutes it’s like the production reaches the top of the hill and sees the whole world down below. Then rushes in. Kind of wish it was a bit longer. Kind of wish that Hall & Oates keyboard noise that brushes by in the opening ten seconds came back too, but so it goes.
[8]
David Sheffieck: The earnest vocal and heartfelt acoustic strumming are good, but it’s the sweeping strings straight out of a rom-com climax that really sell this — a supporting part that both shines and brings out the best in everything around them.
[7]
Edward Okulicz: The song paints a vivid picture. The singer is chasing after a woman. He’s got a rose between his teeth. Maybe he’s carrying a little guitar and playing it, which is why he can’t catch her. Then the song picks up and the girl has got on a train but he’s still running after her, serenading her futilely and kind of beautifully. So ornate, so crafted, so meticulous, so lovely.
[8]