width="71" height="71">Tan Simple Como El Amor
Elefant, 2003
rating: 5/5
reviewer: d (with leveer)
Our beloved D (TMT's webmaster) has lost both his hands (or the will to pettily write about music), so he's asked me to ghost-write this review for him.
I have no idea what context this music comes from, and that's just fine by me. I'll assume this is what the radio sounds like in Spain. Then I can bitch about the terrible state of our pop music scene. Already heard that one? Okay. I'll just say this is what pop music should sound like. Simultaneously upbeat and weird, it's imminently sellable. Then again, the lyrics might be really dark. Regardless, this album is wholly derivative, but damn inventive all at the same time.
When was the last time you heard an album that references "Do The Hustle," "Beatles Song," '50s pop/rock, doo-wop, vocoder era dance, and then on top of that has a song titled "El Secreto de Jeff Lynne," Lynne being the one-time superstar leader of Electric Light Orchestra. I'll go out on a limb and say you probably haven't heard that album. But step right up folks, because La Casa Azul delivers. And the fun doesn't stop there. A song with an undercurrent of harpsichord, with a chorus delivered by a slightly out of sync (gasp!) chorus of motley singers! (This is where I remember we're not supposed to just describe every song.) And this whole mélange can be attributed to one man that surely lived and loved each flavor of pop heard on this album! Incredible!
The crown jewel of Tan Simple Como El Amor must be "El Sol No Brillara Nunca Mas," exemplifying the co-opting of pop sounds for the completely manic end-product. I've never heard anything like this before, not even close. Our auteur takes us on a journey from an indescribable intro best described as organically IDM-esque, to a funk infused prologue to '70s (Hammond) organ which floats above a stomping house beat alongside effects of a similar era. I'll admit my deficiency as a writer and confess that sentence does the song very little justice. Let's just say, when I first heard it, I listened to it for two hours on repeat.
In the end, I might have to acknowledge this is nothing more than a disco album. But, fuck it. I listen to an awful lot of music, and very little catches my ear the way this has. And who wouldn't agree that the best music (art) is that which you love but can't rightfully say why?
1. En noches como la de hoy
2. Siempre brilla el sol
3. Vamos a volar
4. El sol no brillará nunca más
5. Cambia tu vida
6. El secreto de Jeff Lynne
7. C'est fini
8. Superguay
9. Por si alguna vez te vas
10. Aunque parezca lo mejor
11. Como un fan