Album of the month : October 2001
Nacho Vegas (E) : " Actos Inexplicables "
( Limbo Starr)
Hailing from Gijon, a northern Spanish harbour famous for its lively rock-scene, NACHO VEGAS took part in some of the best local bands in the last decade. Starting with shoegazer-influenced ELIMINATOR Jr. , he joined then the occasionally brilliant experimental rockers MANTA RAY, founded the short-lived DIARIU and recently became a full-time member of internationally acclaimed MIGALA. Besides these group activities, NACHO VEGA has just released his first solo album " Actos inexplicables" on up-and-coming Madrid label Limbo Starr.
My poor understanding of Castillan prevents me from giving an opinion on NACHO's reputed talent as lyricist, but the music here is enough to turn " Actos inexplicables" one of the best debuts of the year. Just like MIGALA's recent "Arde", it begins with some kind of Ennio Morricone instrumental piece, so it's tempting to make a comparison between the two albums. MIGALA's music is blurred and elusive, wash-painting with water colours, keeping some unachieved aspect with endearing results. On another hand, NACHO VEGAS, like the young D'Artagnan he looks like, moves forward with confidence and calm determination, drawing warm tints from his palette and giving to his songs well-defined outlines.
Soaring on wonderful orchestral arrangements, the title-track is an ideal opener: a cinemaScope introduction to the album. It leads perfectly to Al Norte Del Norte. Underlined with the same western touch, this mid-tempo ballad rolls quietly on a wary acoustic loop and bursts in a chorus of twanging Fenders and shimmering strings. Seronda ( the single) brings a haunting theremin theme and conjures up those old 60's Jacques Brel classics, except for NACHO VEGAS' unaffected and intimate singing, far from Brel's usual pathos. Clocking at a mere eight minutes, El Angel Simon is the album's pièce de résistance. As soon as the rhythm finds its cruising speed, you realize that you have embarked for a long journey, like on Dylan's best epic ballads. After a while, a bandoneon ( well, actually a melodica) mixes its melancholic strains with the upright bass and the acoustic guitar, but the best surprise comes at the last minute of the song when suddenly a string quartet comes out of nowhere to give it a harrowing tango flavour. After such an emotional peak, the jingle-jangle pop of Miss Carrusel ( a successful Spanish cover of a Townes Van Zandt song ) comes as a perfect transition before this other highlight that El Camino is: a gorgeous wistful melody built on a close texture of acoustic & electric guitars, and enhanced with quivering string rustles. In a similar vein and equally moving, El Cellejon uses a Didjeridoo, an electric sitar and a French horn, adding to VEGAS brilliant soundscape. Only the electric chaos of the closing track Molinos y Gigantes comes close to usual "rock" territory, giving the album a noisy and disturbing end in a way MANTA RAY wouldn't have disowned.
On the album's cover photograph, NACHO VEGAS looks and smiles with the serene assurance of the guy who has just achieved his work and knows that he has done a good job. The listener smiles too, but for quite a different reason...
LIMBO STARR: