Juana Molina - Son

  by Anthony Dhanendran

published: 16 / 4 / 2006

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Review

It’s almost impossible to imagine, say, Gail Porter, changing tack and embarking on a career of singing wistful ballads heavily influenced by electronica, isn’t it? That, in effect, is what Juana Molina has done. The former Argentinian chat-show host and comedian is now best known, on these shores at least, as a purveyor of the finest quality electronica-influenced songs. Her third UK solo album – there was an early Argentinian release and a collaboration with Alejandro Franov – is a more sedate affair than its predecessors. While it shares with them the world-music-style orchestration and, of course, Molina’s Vashti Bunyanesque voice, there are fewer departures into outright for-the-sake-of-it electronica on 'Son' than on her previous album 'Tres Cosas'. Live, she uses a guitar pedal with a sampler to create acoustic layers of guitars and vocals, but on record it’s not apparent that that’s what’s going on. That’s not a bad thing, of course – the arrangements on 'Son' are never dull and often sparkling. It never descends to the level of the generic world music that – on a casual listen – all foreign-language albums threaten to do on first listen. In a way, it’s as though Juana Molina is now confident enough in her songwriting to be able to do without the extra touches. It works, in a way – this is certainly an album that rewards repeated listening. But what makes her tick seems to be the ability to work in smaller touches, such as dischords here and there, and layering of two beats on top of each other so they don’t quite match. These are present and correct on 'Son'. An interesting example is on 'Las Culpas', which uses tiny pitch bends and small dischords to create an intriguing beat. It’s hard – particularly because the whole album’s sung in Spanish – to pick out individual tracks as highlights. Suffice to say that anyone looking for a lo-fi or acoustic album with a bit more bite than the average will find plenty to chew on here.

Track Listing:-

1 Río Seco
2 Yo No
3 La Verdad
4 Un Beso Llega
5 No Seas Antipática
6 Micael
7 Son
8 Las Culpas
9 Malherido
10 Desordenado
11 Elena
12 Hay Que Ver Si Voy

Band Links:-

http://www.juanamolina.com/
https://www.facebook.com/juanamolinamu