A giant leap forward for the Barcelona band on their second LP. With an aesthetic that brings to our coordinates the proposal of groups from the windmill scene such as Squid or the ever-present Black Country, New Road (not surprisingly, the album is produced by Sergio Maschetzko, producer of the giant Ants From Up There), the group delivers with Testamento (2026) a resounding blow on the table of the Spanish indie-rock scene, plunged into an endless depression caused by homogeneity and the abundance of clone-like bands, some of them capable of mutilating their singularity for 30 pieces of silver.
From the duo that opens the album, with the instrumental “Tenía que valer la puta pena” and its heavy guitar riff that catapults “On/Off”, to the closing track “Tierra trágame”, with its fantastic 9 minutes, el diablo de shanghai grabs you by the lapels and looks you in the eye throughout the entire record. The spoken word in the vein of Dry Cleaning is still there, with generational lyrics about the difficulties of fully entering the adult world and the associated contradictions. Cynical and confessional poetry with which the listener identifies regardless of their stage in life.
The fantastic guitar work done by the band runs throughout the entire album. Guitars capable of dialoguing violently or of interweaving into expansive layers in the more restrained and melodic passages, sometimes within the same song. Tension runs through all the tracks, with the songs walking a tightrope that the band loosens and tightens at will.
An excellent collection of songs that opens paths for hope in the national scene.