By José Gandue @spinning zone

Cover art by Zonagirante Studio 

Okay, friends, here are two very recent examples of how encouraging and fun Rock music can be these days:

Paul Higgs – The Mystery of Paul Higgs

Some music critics don't know how to label the work of this Uruguayan musician residing in the city of Buenos Aires. Sure, it's rock, but it's, at many moments, a hybrid product, since it includes hints of local folklore, pop irreverence, and very personal and everyday stories. Higgs uses a very varied catalog of resources in his songs: Loud guitar noises, unexpected percussion, moments of acoustic strings, moments of psychedelia… and all without losing the contagious humor that allows you to take life more gently. If I were asked to use a single word to describe what you hear on this album, I would use the term "fresh".  This is an artist who knows what he wants to say and expresses it however he pleases. He feels free to use the elements and influences at his disposal and manages to establish his own unique style. Yes, it definitely sounds like it belongs to the Río de la Plata region, with all that that implies, while respecting the giants upon whom he stands., But Higgs seems to be dancing on the ledge, smiling, without thinking that his risk might lead to redress. It's permissible, as if you couldn't care less, to let out a laugh in the middle of a chorus (listen Ramble, (a great song, perfect for singing in the middle of a park as if there were no one around). In Again He tells a funny story in which he recounts experiences in Montevideo and in the Argentine capital, while the drums create a happy candombe atmosphere and sustain the reverberating voices, which seem to have been performed during a nighttime bonfire. In Don't go, The opening track of the album, after a ceremonial keyboard intro, features a simple yet powerful guitar that underscores the joyful fury the musician wields, as if to say «"Okay, you crazy people, we have to stop, move your damn bones, or we'll get swept away by the current.".

I like albums like this: short (twenty-six minutes, barely), heterogeneous, sincere, daring, ready to pierce our ears with a venomous smile. This is an album that wasn't made for private therapy, but it can certainly help lift your spirits on rainy afternoons after the worst news.

Marina Fages – Making the world small and fantastic

Now let's get wild. This is a live album, a packed house., everyone ready to smash themselves against the walls and shout the tunes as if there were no tomorrow. Marina Fages, whom, if you listen carefully to the recording, we could, if you're not afraid of the expressions of the moment, to establish herself as a long-awaited queen of rock. Exaggerated? Perhaps. But this woman with a sharp, raspy voice, impeccable melodies, and relentless guitar riffs stands before the crowd demanding they celebrate her., And everyone, obedient because he deserves it, does it without a word. This is a catalog of 23 songs made with boundless vigor, without pause, where the enthusiasm is contagious. And where that outdated concept that adrenaline is only for men and that he has to show who has the biggest one or something like that is defeated once again. Listening to Marina Fages can take us back to the best times of bands like Fun People or Boom Boom Kid. Sure, sounding in keeping with our times. With her, we can say that the audacity that rock needed to capture the attention of new generations has returned., without wasting time on the nostalgia of the elderly.

What does Fages sound like? The speakers They shake themselves up with punk, hardcore, rock, and hints of a relaxed vibe close to pop and folk., guttural moments (incredibly perfect, at the exact second, the precise moment needed). For tunes like Brandy, The best of me, Lightning drawing (performed here alongside Lula Bertoldi), and A small world, Among many others, we can say without a doubt that Fages will soon be a prominent figure in Latin American rock. Hopefully, I will soon travel to every country on the continent to attest to that.