By José Gandue @spinning zone

Cover art by Zonagirante Studio 

At least we can call it a curious fact that a newly formed group releases its first album on December 30th, And that it's initially being done through Bandcamp, which, despite being our favorite platform, isn't exactly the most popular. Furthermore, we don't know how many people found out about it., But we suspect it wasn't millions, maybe just a few dozen people from the inner circle of the musicians in question. Likewise, Mauricio Colmenares, leader and (surely) absolute owner of the project called Birds of Sweden, Based in Bogotá, Colombia, he will know what he is doing, or at least he will be doing what comes naturally to him.

Anyway, nothing in the previous discussion affects what we're going to say about this album, called With dirt in his mouth, a plate containing 8 cuts where you can hear (let's say it once and for all) an incredible lesson on how blues rock can survive in complicated times. Yes, this is an impeccable album, in which Colmenares' guitar work, and his voice, imbued with mystery and sensuality, without moments of exaggerated euphoria or exasperating screams, It makes us wish that the genre would survive despite current trends. Making good rock music in times when there's a greater demand for and preference for the ecstasy of dance and the simplicity of the textual message isn't easy; it's more than that—it's courageous. And, moreover, creating brilliant songs like Flies, Blood and Nails or the lengthy tune that gives this production its title, It doesn't happen every day. 

Colmenares tries (successfully) to to tell stories that seem to narrate the uncertainties of lonely and hesitant beings, While solidly demonstrating that he plays his instrument with classical skill and enduring emotion. Perhaps the era of virtuoso guitarists is passing, or they are being relegated to corners reserved for closed and exclusive circles., But Colmenares' job is to resist with his strings what the music market says. Their band deserves attention, since, as we say in the title, they may be (and if we exaggerate, but gladly) the best unknown band of the moment, for the solidity of its sound and for the precise and exciting construction of its songs.