Trollheart

Review and discuss here.

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MicShazam

Oddly enough, if you go to the artist page for Brownout on Spotify, this album is sorted under singles and thus not shown under albums. Not so if you just type in their name and just scroll down without going to their artist page.

Not that it matters, it's just weird.
Here's the link for the album: https://open.spotify.com/album/4epZx7dKC1oq90vTi6fr0Z

Psy-Fi

There's also a YouTube playlist of the album from Freestyle Records here...

Brownout - Homenaje

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RiPS

Brownout - Homenaje

It was thoroughly unobjectionable but I wouldn't listen to it again.

This was pretty cool, just not really my thing.

Two and a half stars.

innerspaceboy

All right. Latin funk? I'm ready; let's do this.

Initial thoughts - I'm digging the slow, laid-back groove of the opening track. If it stays this chill I could seriously ride this through.

The title track is heavy on the Latin. I was hoping for some horns, but my own tastes lean toward jazzy brass inflections of afrobeat rather than the more traditional funk groove of Afro-funk. The irksome element is that the Latin vibe dances a bit too close to the line of Puerto Rican reggaeton, and give me flashbacks to the nights I spent spinning at an inner city club. (Not fond memories.) But it's cool - the next track features more horns and the keeps the funk groove steady. I'm still with it.

The lack of vocals is a huge plus in my book. I far more readily acclimate to new-to-me instrumental music than to something with a verse-chorus-verse structure, so I'm enjoying this. Not the first thing I'd reach for, but I haven't taken it off yet either.

"African Battle" is intriguing both in title and in listening. The elements of this track are everything I dig about afro-funk. Solid horns, funky infectious rhythms, and incredible vitality. The energy is great on this one. If I had the choice I wouldn't mind hearing a few of the musicians attempt some improv soloing, but it's all good the way it is.

"Con El Brownout No Se Juega" has a strong traditional spirit about it. The vocals do not detract from the experience, and actually, add some rich dimension and soundstaging to open up the track. The psychedelic treatments of the guitar solo are a nice touch as well. The album succeeds in sounding authentically retro without feeling contrived or phony.

"Latin Asscape"'s dialed-down intro really grabs the listener's attention, and the organ segues to a lively collaboration between the percussion and horns. It reminds me that I definitely need more soulful organ music in my life. And the sax that comes in halfway through the selection definitely exhibits some jazz-inspired melodies. This track is a strong highlight of the record thus far.

The interplay of the instruments is spot-on all throughout the album. Each register has its own little scene and action going on, and the listener can ease back and explore the space or just let the cohesive whole wash over them. It's really enjoyable stuff.

"They Don't Know" is ultra-low key and heavy on the wet reverb. It's approaching dub territory here, and there is nothing wrong with that.

And then the pace picks back up full speed with "El Narco." The bass keeps it moving and the percussion is brought to the fore. A definite head-nodder.

The album closer, "Chafa Khan Artistry" is every ounce as funky as the preceding tracks and introduces some funky rhythmic vocal chants. The record is cohesive from start to finish and I really can't single out any duds here. A strong post-Blimp debut from these funky fellows, and an excellent addition to The Album Club!

9/10

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OccultHawk

At first I was hopeful this might be like a Latin Funkadelic. Then it got upbeat. And stayed up. Then it was like the always smiling guy at work. Then it become a used car salesman blowing off steam at a convention. Then I shot my radio.

2/5 Stars.

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MicShazam

Can't say I found this very interesting to sit through. There's not anything clearly and objectively wrong with this 13 track load of latin funk material, but I feel like there's a distinct absence of personality to these tracks. There's little in the way of memorable melodies or grooves here. Each track tends to consist of a simple, repeated groove and a couple simple horn melodies and I'm getting bored by these tracks pretty quick, even though they're so short. There's just a lack of any really interesting developments or progressions. I'm not too keen on the sound of this record either. The percussion is fine and so are the horns, but the bass sounds rather limp and the keyboards tend to be more garish than evocative.
The nadir of the record comes at track number 7, "Barretta". This track exhibits everything I don't like about this album very, very strongly and I find it downright annoying to listen to.
It's not that I have anything against funk or latin music as such. Sometimes, quite to the contrary. It's just that Brownout somehow manages to make this sound very superficial and garish to my ears and I don't like it at all.

It's not bad music, but I don't really get the 'selling point' of this particular disc either.

4/10. Doesn't move me. Occasionally annoys me. Somewhat repetitive and unimaginative.

Trollheart

I honestly thought, reading the title, that this was some sort of cover album, a homage, if you will, to the greats of the past, and given the opener that idea would seem to be reinforced. What an unfortunate choice for a song title though! "Brown Wind and Fire"? Sounds like the boys have been hanging out too much at the local Mexican restaurant! But basically no, seems it's just the titles that are a little of a paying your dues thing, and mostly I find this like maybe being in the middle of a Mariachi party with Carlos Santana as special guest. Like a few others have said, it's ok but nothing terribly special and I doubt I'd be sitting through it again, or any of their other albums. Pity: I was expecting more.

5/10

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Anteater

Brownout - Homenaje

Good balance of pluses and minuses on this one. I'm definitely diggin' the Santana and mid 70's War influences throughout. 'Brown Wind and Fire' has some stellar orchestration and the production values are nice n' beefy. Perhaps the main issue is that they try to be a little too middle-of-the-road here through most of these pieces. They don't extend out to jam much sans the 5-minute 'You Already Are', which is a side 2 highlight even though it has a muted quality. They aren't hurting for variety within the Latin funk-rock umbrealla, but I would have liked some jammier cuts or a talented vocalist to add some spice. Going back to Santana for a sec....that guy could really pick his vocalists even back on some of his 70's outings.

5.5 out of 10. More oomph would have pushed things to a 7.

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Psy-Fi

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
Instrumental Latin and Afro-Latin funk alternating between slow and uptempo numbers.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
Slow instrumental Afro-Latin funk groove with a playful nod to Earth Wind and Fire.

3. What did you think of the next track?
Much more upbeat instrumental Latin-funk.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
N/A

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
Yes. I liked the 70's vibe they were giving off in homage to some of their Latin and Afro-Latin funk musical influences.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it?
Stayed the same throughout.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
N/A

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?
Yes. Nothing here I didn't enjoy listening to.

9. What did you think of the production?
Very good.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
Yes, I knew of them before this album. They primarily record and perform as "Grupo Fantasma" and Brownout is what they call themselves when they want to record and tour with a slightly different approach and sound to their music. They also record and tour under the name "Brown Sabbath" doing horn-infused covers of Black Sabbath songs.
They also used to play with Prince on various occasions as his backing band.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
Yes. Funk is always on my musical menu.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
I loved it from the start. Repeated listens haven't changed my opinion of it one way or another.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
Don't have a single favorite but I do lean more towards tracks like "Brown Wind and Fire," "Con el Brownout No Se Juega,"Laredo 77," and "You Already Are."
"Barretta" sounded like it could've been featured on the 70's American TV show of the same name.

14. And the one you liked least?
None of them stood out as being dislikeable to me.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?
No. While it is the debut album for this band under the "Brownout" name, it is actually their fourth studio album.

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
Have already heard everything they've done and am always looking forward to hearing more from them in the future.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
No. It was at least as good as what I was expecting to hear from them.

18. Did the album end well?
Yes. The last track "Chafa Khan" was not one of the standout tracks on the album for me but I thought it fit in well for the ending.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
No. I think it's fine just as it is.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
Yes, I thought it hung together very well.

9/10

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