I’ve no idea who the Meridian Brothers are, but ‘Devoción (Works 2005 – 2011)’ compiles material from three previous albums ( Meridian Brothers V, VI and VII) which probably makes it a reasonable introduction to their output. It’s perhaps not surprising I have no idea who they are, though: for those of us resident outside Columbia (pretty much everyone, then), this is the first opportunity we’ve had to hear the work of the band who hail from Bogata founded in 1998.
The twelve tracks are quirky, off-beat and bizarre, pieces of odd pop, weird wonkiness and befuddled warped jazz and bent swing, all with a Mexican flavour and Latinate twist. A taste of the strangeness: there’s a spaghetti western crossed with tin-pan reggae vibe about the smouldering tango of ‘Sosterngan Al Angel Entusiasta’, and clanging Krautrock played on what sounds like toy instruments on ‘El Ganadero Del Futuro’. There’s musical miscegenation in abundance, and some of it’s good fun, some of it’s cool, but some of it’s just too weird or a bit naff. Still, it’s certainly not predictable…
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Meridian Brothers Online
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