Frownland

It's pretty prominent on the closer Sangre Gitana Y Mora as well. Maybe it's Moor influence? I wish Alyosius was around to drop some flamenco knowledge on us.

I understand, I was just being sassy. Her voice has an almost whining or complaining inflection to it. I find that contributes to the organic emotions on the record, but I can see where it would turn you off a bit. It's also very up front in the mix and she has a lot of power to her voice to begin with, so it's hard to escape if you just want to focus on the guitars. Is that your full review btw?

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Trollheart

No, that was after listening to only two tracks. I've heard the whole thing now. I'll do a proper review in a day or so.

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Neapolitan

Are you going to do the full monty with the speedometer or the review matrix? j/c

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Trollheart

Review matrix. Now that I no longer have to do my thread and I have more time to listen to these albums, I'll try to ensure I use the matrix for all albums in future.

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Neapolitan

Why don't you knowledge yourself on the subject? Be the Alyosius you wish was here.

A good place to start is with:

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Frownland

I mean ja he's dope as hell and far and away the superior guitarist, but Lole y Manuel is a different animal. You shall see in my review. I may even break precedent and enter the matrix.

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Neapolitan

I am not telling you to pick Paco Pena over someone you like such as Lole y Manuel. It's more like if you want to delve into it as a musician, and perhaps do not know where to start, take Toques Flamencos into consideration. It's more of a suggestion. I don't know if you want to dive head first into traditional Flamenco, cause you want to play more of a hybrid style of Flamenco guitar. That is if you are looking at this more as a musician who aspires to play this music rather than album collector who is just listening to it for the enjoyment.

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Psy-Fi

I voted "liked it" for this one. I like flamenco music in small doses but when I listen to it for more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time I tend to lose interest and this album was no exception. I can appreciate the skill involved in playing flamenco well but as a genre it just doesn't hold my attention for any longer than that.
Having said that, I enjoyed listening to this one even though I probably won't return to it again. Nothing wrong with the album but flamenco in general doesn't grab me the way some other styles of music do.
I thought the vocals were quite good and she sounded like she was very passionate and singing from deep within her "soul." The vocals occasionally overpowered the guitar, though, and I found it to be a bit of a distraction in parts.
The guitar playing was quite good throughout the album and I enjoyed it for the most part.

I'll give it a 7/10

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OccultHawk

Put this on that cackling hyena and this might be listenable.

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Trollheart

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
I loved the guitar and thought hey this is going to be an easy album to listen to! Then she started singing, and that was kind of that.
2. What did you think of the opening track?
Loved it for about forty seconds. For me, the singing ruined it, although in fairness this was not the worst (imo) that she sung; she got a lot more annoying as it went on, but this was a bad start.
3. What did you think of the next track?
Hated this with the passion of a thousand Hitlers writing a thousand copies of Mein Kampf. Her singing really pissed me off here and I couldn't even enjoy the guitar on this track. The castanets were pretty annoying too.
4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions? (see note 1)
Absolutely hated her. I understand she has passion and pain in her voice, but so could say a singer in a DBSM band. That doesn't mean I'm going to like DBSM. This voice did nothing for me. That's incorrect: it put my teeth on edge.
5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not? (see note 2)
The guitar was okay, but the singing made it hard to concentate on it.
6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?
Much worse
7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
n/a as I don't speak Spanish
8. Did you like the instrumental parts? (see note 3)
Yeah. About the only decent parts on the album
9. What did you think of the production?
Pass as ever
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?
No and no
11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
Not really, no. I'm not into flamenco, nor do I have a burning desire to be.
12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
A lot less, and I only listened twice, but it was enough

13. What would you class as your favourite track(s), if you have any?
None, but “La Plazuela y el tardon” at least had someone else singing, so that was bearable. The same can be said of “Por primera vez”
14. And the one(s) you liked least?
Everything else.
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? (see note 4)
n/a
16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
Absolutely not
17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
Yeah. I had hoped I'd like it more, but that voice. Ugh.
18. Did the album end well?
Well, it ended, so I guess that was good.


19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
Make it entirely instrumental
20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
I really neither know nor care.

This is obviously for some people, particularly fans of flamenco I guess, but it's not for me. All I can give this is a generous 4/10 and hope never to encounter it again.

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