Image by Flying High Photography
This trio of norteño preachers of organic and smooth R&B melodies and hip-hop grooves has been teasing us for the better part of this year with amazing material. Now they have fulfilled the promise with the release of their new album.
Fermín Sánchez (vocals/guitar), Ferdinand González (beats/bass), and Franco “Tino El Pingüino” Genel (rhymes/vocals) have crafted a record that’s more hip-hop than some of the tracks they have released prior to its release. It’s a bass-heavy, ’90s-nodding rap album that shines through with its word play and, above all, vocal melodies. It’s also a showcase of Guadaloops’ adventurous songwriting skills.
In addition to “Ven,” with a video that we’ve already been talking about, we have “Almanegra” which is dark and mechanical until Sánchez’s voice comes through like a ray of sunshine. “El Loco” showcases some Tricky/DJ Muggs style grittiness, if these artists worked with digital textures instead of scratchy ones. Most tracks are punctuated by Genel’s stream of consciousness rapping, which usually starts grounded only to get mixed up with surreal imagery before coming back to Earth.
Not everything is grimey on De Monstruos y Locos. “Neolisticio” is more upbeat and colorful, a nice counterpart to their earlier single “Bella Tarde.” “Coral Neon” starts with a slight reggaeton beat before morphing into a frantic breakbeat, and then shifts down again with a percussion showdown. “Decapitación,” the closing track, is another standout; a sparse acoustic number with accordion stabs at the beginning and ending of the cut.
Listen to this crazy monstrous record right here.