Tiempos Raros

After forming in 2013, Mexico City-area quartet El Shirota went through years of changes in lineup and approach to their guitar-friendly rock sounds. Debut full-length Tiempos Raros follows multiple sporadically released EPs, and its dense waves of shoegazey production are far more refined and dreamlike than the abrasive post-punk of earlier releases. The mid- to late-90s alternative rock sweet spot proves to be the guiding influence for Tiempos Raros. The deadpan vocal melody and slow-moving waves of distorted yet melodic guitars on No Se Todo are borrowed pretty blatantly from Weezer, but El Shirota deliver the song with enough extra fuzz to keep it from sounding too derivative. The steady midtempo beat and curiously dissonant interweaving guitars on noisy instrumentals El Chirota and RTL take notes from Washing Machine-era Sonic Youth, while the rowdier La Ciudad merges mellow verses with angsty screaming and explosive post-grunge choruses. Abrupt twists in style and arrangement make for an unpredictable total album experience, and when the band indulge in several long stretches of formless guitar ambience, it makes the impact of the next blasting riff all the more powerful. This is especially true of the transition between the drifting second half of A Donde Voy (Revamp) and El Bob Rosendo, the 81-second blast of hardcore punk that closes out the album. El Shirota wear their influences on their sleeve throughout Tiempos Raros, but the albums warmth, inventiveness, and various unexpected moves leaves things sounding fresh and exciting. ~ Fred Thomas