From 2017 to 2018,the Argentine wine district of Mendoza was the host of the burgeoning indie music scene that packed Buenos Aires venues weekend after weekend. Artists from the westside of the country were taking their part in la federalización del rock. Mariano Di Césare’s bands Mi Amigo Invencible and El principe Idiota; Simon Poxyran´s Perras on the Beach and, of course, the then boy wonder Luca Bocci, all ran the music scene both on and off the stage at the time.
A few years prior, they´re first album Ahora hinted listeners to Bocci´s bocha. Songs were jam packed with sensual child-like crooning to slow cut chords. Each of which contained guitar strums and arpeggios that emulated outer space reverb. And its lyrics submitted hurt wordplay tantalizing with emotional splinters, acceptance, and letting go throughout the whole album.
Cut to 2020. Lonerism is no stranger to artists but releasing new music during isolation might come off as new to some. The few that do, make it or break it; whatever making it means anymore. Contrary to they’re soaring uprising in Buenos Aires, Luca Bocci released No pierdas la simpleza phasing out of they´re binary past in Barcelona.
Artists are often foes of arrogance but Luca Bocci´s humility is nothing short from that of a monk; “The challenge of this album was to destroy my ego,” they added when asked to describe the creative process in the making of the sophomore album.
“Aprendiendo,” though the shortest song of the album, strikes it´s minor chord melody like leather wrapped lyrics in our ears; an air of Gustavo Cerati´s falsetto in “Amor Amarillo,” resonates in the distance. Meanwhile, ballad-like guitar strumming entwines to the languishing ode of a life-long recap in “Pibe,” where chords as colorful as nostalgia bring the listener back to the namesake song of the previous album.
“Muro,” an 80s hit concealed in a 2020 album, merges keyboards with shakers and gentle chord plucks with underlying bass lines. The lyrics undress the listener, “Ya se está cayendo el muro que separa nuestras mentes,” but the sex is really all in the keys.
Finally, “Poder” is presumably the gender nonconforming hint of No Pierdas la Simpleza. Only Luca would find the way to diverge what starts off as another one of his heart melting croons into a reggaeton/trap-based beat and top it off with lyrical wisdom. “El mundo se acabó, pero seguro hay otros dando vueltas.”
Bocci´s album debut, Ahora, and No pierdas las Simpleza speak to each other through astrological dialogue. The first included the song “Era de Piscis,” where as now we find “Acuario,” ostensibly hinting at the listeners of a long awaited transition. And that’s exactly the album’s takeaway, the lyrics expose a mirror-like goodbye of an outdated personality while the sound evokes the fresh welcoming of something unpredictable and new.
All 11 tracks stack feelings in shelves we´ve become familiar with in Bocci’s previous deliveries. That is, in part, because some songs were written closer to the time of his debut. In line with 2020’s general voidlike feeling of missingness, the themes emulated throughout the 38 minutes of No Pierdas la Simpleza are bittersweet, filled with the longing of something beautiful. His sophomore album meshes the best of the artist´s sensuality and wisdom as it conveys the sound of change, shift and transition.
