Extraperlo

Extraperlo is the latest band coming out of Spain dressing pop with tropicalia and thinking vocals should not overtake or suspend its surroundings. They follow the sun and breeze of El Guincho’s Alegranza!, the ideals of Coconot’s Cosa Astral, and the techno emblematic of Joe Crepusculo’s Escuela de Zebras and Supercrepus. It’s not as experimental as its influences but it’s actually harder to swallow as it struggles to reveal its true identity, the new Spanish indie movement has its very own tricks especially with pop. They’re signed under Mushroom Pillow which has proven to be one of our most beloved labels; the Madrid-based brand recently wowed us with the releases of Triangulo de Amor Bizarro and Sr. Chinarro. The trends among these guys seem to emphasize the tribal sound, supporting it with touches of modernity but ultimately remaining in the 90s, and having obscure deep vocals to contrast the vibrant sunny sounds of its background. These tracks are however, a reflection of the urban man giving himself a chance to know its own fabricated nature. For Extraperlo, the ideal opportunity or justification to reach stability while being happy is to bring friendship along to a resort with disco nights during the summer. First great single “Las Palmeras del Amor” despite having such a cheesy title bounces around with its intrepid lyrics on self-reflection, but of course they’re not to be taken seriously or at least, it’s hard to assimilate truth among strange bold vocals that don’t even want to be there in the first place. The environment seems simple enough, but some tracks like “Entre las plantas” and “Wornie” not only struggle to stand out, but position themselves as plot holes that do very little to become memorable. “Bañadores” is an astonishing track mostly because of its bridge continuum with the following piece “Cavalcade.” Both tracks serve as the neck of an uneven musical approach that is simply too delightful and at moments strangely amusing to not care about it, Desayuno Continental is full of warmth, and that's nothing but a luxurious gift for the upcoming spring break. - Club Fonograma - Carlos Reyes

Extraperlo is the latest band coming out of Spain dressing pop with tropicalia and thinking vocals should not overtake or suspend its surroundings. They follow the sun and breeze of El Guincho’s Alegranza!, the ideals of Coconot’s Cosa Astral, and the techno emblematic of Joe Crepusculo’s Escuela de Zebras and Supercrepus. It’s not as experimental as its influences but it’s actually harder to swallow as it struggles to reveal its true identity, the new Spanish indie movement has its very own tricks especially with pop. They’re signed under Mushroom Pillow which has proven to be one of our most beloved labels; the Madrid-based brand recently wowed us with the releases of Triangulo de Amor Bizarro and Sr. Chinarro. The trends among these guys seem to emphasize the tribal sound, supporting it with touches of modernity but ultimately remaining in the 90s, and having obscure deep vocals to contrast the vibrant sunny sounds of its background. These tracks are however, a reflection of the urban man giving himself a chance to know its own fabricated nature. For Extraperlo, the ideal opportunity or justification to reach stability while being happy is to bring friendship along to a resort with disco nights during the summer. First great single “Las Palmeras del Amor” despite having such a cheesy title bounces around with its intrepid lyrics on self-reflection, but of course they’re not to be taken seriously or at least, it’s hard to assimilate truth among strange bold vocals that don’t even want to be there in the first place. The environment seems simple enough, but some tracks like “Entre las plantas” and “Wornie” not only struggle to stand out, but position themselves as plot holes that do very little to become memorable. “Bañadores” is an astonishing track mostly because of its bridge continuum with the following piece “Cavalcade.” Both tracks serve as the neck of an uneven musical approach that is simply too delightful and at moments strangely amusing to not care about it, Desayuno Continental is full of warmth, and that's nothing but a luxurious gift for the upcoming spring break. - Club Fonograma - Carlos Reyes

Cuando Extraperlo publicaron en 2009 su debut, “Desayuno Continental”, representaron una necesaria bocanada de aire fresco en la escena musical española: Extraperlo es uno de esos grupos que hacen de nexo imposible entre ese underground que tantas alegrías nos da pero que tan poco éxito tiene y ese pop melifluo que suele llegar a las masas. Extraperlo demostraron tener sustancia desde el comienzo, con un sonido que retoma la mejor tradición de la nueva ola española de los ochenta. Con “Delirio Específico” (para el que han abandonado Mushroom Pillow en favor de Canada) el grupo da un paso más allá y experimentan con nuevas texturas cercanas a ese tropicalismo que El Guincho pusiera de moda en 2007: no en vano, el álbum está producido por Pablo Díaz-Reixa: eso sí, quien piense que este giro se debe al canario es posible que ande desencaminado, puesto que este mismo año Díaz-Reixa nos sorprendía con la producción de Los Punsetes, en la que su particular estilo no se hacía notar. En realidad, es más que probable que este cambio tenga que ver con las respectivas carreras en solitario de alguno de los miembros de Extraperlo durante estos años: Alba Blasi se pasaba al witch-house ibérico de la mano de Granit, Borja Rosal y Aleix Clavera ha estado acompañando a El Guincho de gira en los últimos meses y Cacho Salvador forma parte de ese prometedor grupo que es Capitán. Todas estas experiencias se reflejan en “Delirio Específico”, mucho más consistente que su predecesor.

Otra de las novedades que saltan a primera vista tras escuchar “Delirio Específico” es su inmediatez: las canciones, más cortas, entran sin sobresaltos ni esfuerzos. De hecho, el disco pasa como una exhalación, pero lo hace dejando muy buen sabor de boca y ganas de más: los bajos de “Resplandor”, los ecos de pop ochentero de “Modelos Blandos”, el kalise de “Viaje A Brasil” y “Saxo Azul”, los sintes de “Fina Vanidad”, hasta esa forma de cantar arrastrando las palabras y alargando las vocales hasta el infinito... todo suma, y recuerda inevitablemente a esos primeros ochenta en los que crecimos muchos. Pero el gran acierto de Extraperlo es el de dar unos nuevos aires a esos sonidos, gracias a sintes inteligentes, samples certeros y, sobre todo, gracias a unas melodías que son el imprescindible andamio para que todos los demás elementos funcionen.

Si algo viene a demostrar este “Delirio Específico” es que el pop comercial, el buen gusto y la inteligencia no están reñidos: si canciones como “Ardiente Figura” no trascienden la esfera del indie, es que algo va muy mal por estos lares. - Playground

Cuando Extraperlo publicaron en 2009 su debut, “Desayuno Continental”, representaron una necesaria bocanada de aire fresco en la escena musical española: Extraperlo es uno de esos grupos que hacen de nexo imposible entre ese underground que tantas alegrías nos da pero que tan poco éxito tiene y ese pop melifluo que suele llegar a las masas. Extraperlo demostraron tener sustancia desde el comienzo, con un sonido que retoma la mejor tradición de la nueva ola española de los ochenta. Con “Delirio Específico” (para el que han abandonado Mushroom Pillow en favor de Canada) el grupo da un paso más allá y experimentan con nuevas texturas cercanas a ese tropicalismo que El Guincho pusiera de moda en 2007: no en vano, el álbum está producido por Pablo Díaz-Reixa: eso sí, quien piense que este giro se debe al canario es posible que ande desencaminado, puesto que este mismo año Díaz-Reixa nos sorprendía con la producción de Los Punsetes, en la que su particular estilo no se hacía notar. En realidad, es más que probable que este cambio tenga que ver con las respectivas carreras en solitario de alguno de los miembros de Extraperlo durante estos años: Alba Blasi se pasaba al witch-house ibérico de la mano de Granit, Borja Rosal y Aleix Clavera ha estado acompañando a El Guincho de gira en los últimos meses y Cacho Salvador forma parte de ese prometedor grupo que es Capitán. Todas estas experiencias se reflejan en “Delirio Específico”, mucho más consistente que su predecesor.

Otra de las novedades que saltan a primera vista tras escuchar “Delirio Específico” es su inmediatez: las canciones, más cortas, entran sin sobresaltos ni esfuerzos. De hecho, el disco pasa como una exhalación, pero lo hace dejando muy buen sabor de boca y ganas de más: los bajos de “Resplandor”, los ecos de pop ochentero de “Modelos Blandos”, el kalise de “Viaje A Brasil” y “Saxo Azul”, los sintes de “Fina Vanidad”, hasta esa forma de cantar arrastrando las palabras y alargando las vocales hasta el infinito... todo suma, y recuerda inevitablemente a esos primeros ochenta en los que crecimos muchos. Pero el gran acierto de Extraperlo es el de dar unos nuevos aires a esos sonidos, gracias a sintes inteligentes, samples certeros y, sobre todo, gracias a unas melodías que son el imprescindible andamio para que todos los demás elementos funcionen.

Si algo viene a demostrar este “Delirio Específico” es que el pop comercial, el buen gusto y la inteligencia no están reñidos: si canciones como “Ardiente Figura” no trascienden la esfera del indie, es que algo va muy mal por estos lares. - Playground

’s been a while since we last heard from Spanish wunderkind El Guincho, but it’s a good thing he decided to produce some tracks for fellow Spaniards and friends Extraperlo. Ardiente Figura in particular hints a lot to his solo material (Alegranza! for life), but you’ll recognise his key elements on Fina Vanidad without doubt as well. One of the members of Extraperlo is Alba Blasi, one half of the Spanish Beach House’esque duo GRANIT - the other half of GRANIT is Christina Checa, who guested on El Guincho’s Pop Negro. In short: Extraperlo is some sort of Spanish supergroup. - Discos Naiveté

Sounds Like: Riding on the back of a technicolor dolphin through the gentle waves of the Mediterranean.

There’s very little music that has the power to relax you and get you hype at the same time, but that’s exactly what Barcelona quartet Extraperlo does. Their music, aggressively major key, is a constant wash of yacht-rock guitars, cooling synth ambiances and bouncy pop beats. It’s topped by reverby vocals sung in that deep-chested, Rick Astley way people did things in the ‘80s. It sounds like soaking up the sun feels.

After making a splish-splash in Spain with their debut Desayuno Continental (meaning, lolz, Continental Breakfast), Extraperlo recruited the help of Spanish indie god Pablo Díaz-Reixa, aka el Guincho, to head up production on the group’s sophomore effort, Delirio Específico. And you can hear it – tracks like “Ardiente Figura” bear his electronic-yet-warm sonic imprint. Angular-yet-smooth. And, of course, cheesy-yet-hip.

In interviews, Extraperlo has cited not only the obvious of influence of ‘80s Brit-pop, but the Fania All-Stars and Awesome Tapes From Africa blog as well. Those influences maybe harder to hear, but they point to an important aspect of the band: the rhythms are so good. There’s an inherent funkiness, an almost Caribbean syncopation keeping things moving. If the ‘80s actually sounded like this, I for one would be way more nostalgic for them. - MTV IGGY - Marlon Bishop

Sounds Like: Riding on the back of a technicolor dolphin through the gentle waves of the Mediterranean.

There’s very little music that has the power to relax you and get you hype at the same time, but that’s exactly what Barcelona quartet Extraperlo does. Their music, aggressively major key, is a constant wash of yacht-rock guitars, cooling synth ambiances and bouncy pop beats. It’s topped by reverby vocals sung in that deep-chested, Rick Astley way people did things in the ‘80s. It sounds like soaking up the sun feels.

After making a splish-splash in Spain with their debut Desayuno Continental (meaning, lolz, Continental Breakfast), Extraperlo recruited the help of Spanish indie god Pablo Díaz-Reixa, aka el Guincho, to head up production on the group’s sophomore effort, Delirio Específico. And you can hear it – tracks like “Ardiente Figura” bear his electronic-yet-warm sonic imprint. Angular-yet-smooth. And, of course, cheesy-yet-hip.

In interviews, Extraperlo has cited not only the obvious of influence of ‘80s Brit-pop, but the Fania All-Stars and Awesome Tapes From Africa blog as well. Those influences maybe harder to hear, but they point to an important aspect of the band: the rhythms are so good. There’s an inherent funkiness, an almost Caribbean syncopation keeping things moving. If the ‘80s actually sounded like this, I for one would be way more nostalgic for them. - MTV IGGY - Marlon Bishop

The main story arc surrounding Extraperlo’s new record is that after breakthrough album Desayuno Continental, as the band was put on halt while each member went its own separate way to work on different projects (Borja Rosal as guitar player for El Guincho, and Alba Blasi as half of Granit were quick to spring), it also gave them the opportunity to mature and evolve as musicians individually. Added to the fact they’ve now teamed up with Pablo Díaz-Reixa as producer for their latest record Delirio Específico, it seems to explain why the most ear-catching divergence from their previous release is just how much cleaner the whole thing sounds. By association, words like accessibility and polishedness start to pop out, meaning that the framework for Deliro Específico is inherently poppier, relatable, and communal. The equivalent of evolving from warm art house films into lush technicolor sagas.

Working with highly influential musician-turned-producer-du-jour El Guincho, and releasing the record through new home of the cool label Canada after abandoning previous home of the cool Mushroom Pillow, the changes in entourage feel as though they’re simultaneously trying to safely ride the trendiness train, while also aligning themselves with a certain scene and aesthetic that carries a whole ethos of its own. First single “Ardiente Figura” shines not only as one of the best pop songs to come out of Spain this year, but as a relentless fluttering of post-punk, tropicalia, dub, and afrobeat influences consolidated into a riff that shudders your every bone, a hook that pervades your brain, and a bridge that melts your heart. All of this done with admirable restraint, and an impressive congealing of their influences into convincingly original melodies and arrangements.

But for a band that shows such restraint in their performance, the themes throughout the album appear to be rampant with luxuriousness. One could quickly shelve their lyrics as straight-out pop idioms, yet with repeated listens they seem to offer some vivid imagery that’s possibly related to fiery sexuality (“Ardiente Figura” and “A Nivel Carnal”), and seaside rapture (“Las Corrientes del Golfo” and “Viaje a Brasil”). Borja Rosal has allegedly succeeded at his conscious attempt to sound a lot less like Orange Juice frontman Edwyn Collins, though when his roaring voice gets paired with new-wavey staccato riffage (such as in “Las Corrientes de Golfo”) the Soda Stereo extrapolation CF’s own Gio Guillén mentioned does start to feel a bit inevitable to point at. Alba Blasi’s occasional appearances though, show off a tonal counterpoint that adds considerable breadth to Extraperlo’s palette, a band that here pulls together such elegance and energy from the most disparate of sounds.

Leaving barely any silences between tracks does nothing but reinforce the contrast in cohesiveness between their debut and sophomore records, which points out to the fact that Delirio Específico can be misinterpreted as the effort of a band still working to find their ground and tailoring what’s coming closer to be their dreamed-about sound. But perhaps that’s the whole point of Extraperlo. In an interview for PlayGround, when asked about the possibility of dropping an eventual third record, Borja Rosal stated they would need to find ways to do things differently, in order to keep the creative spirit alive. It’s their own nonconformity that truly defines Extraperlo. And in Delirio Específico, as a band that’s still experimenting with expanding their own palette, they’ve succeeded at admirably looking for new ways to conjure leisure-evoking melodical opulence, afrobeat-inspired guitar licks, and 80’s pad beats into truly stuttering internet-era pop songs. - Club Fonograma - Pierre Lestruhaut

The main story arc surrounding Extraperlo’s new record is that after breakthrough album Desayuno Continental, as the band was put on halt while each member went its own separate way to work on different projects (Borja Rosal as guitar player for El Guincho, and Alba Blasi as half of Granit were quick to spring), it also gave them the opportunity to mature and evolve as musicians individually. Added to the fact they’ve now teamed up with Pablo Díaz-Reixa as producer for their latest record Delirio Específico, it seems to explain why the most ear-catching divergence from their previous release is just how much cleaner the whole thing sounds. By association, words like accessibility and polishedness start to pop out, meaning that the framework for Deliro Específico is inherently poppier, relatable, and communal. The equivalent of evolving from warm art house films into lush technicolor sagas.

Working with highly influential musician-turned-producer-du-jour El Guincho, and releasing the record through new home of the cool label Canada after abandoning previous home of the cool Mushroom Pillow, the changes in entourage feel as though they’re simultaneously trying to safely ride the trendiness train, while also aligning themselves with a certain scene and aesthetic that carries a whole ethos of its own. First single “Ardiente Figura” shines not only as one of the best pop songs to come out of Spain this year, but as a relentless fluttering of post-punk, tropicalia, dub, and afrobeat influences consolidated into a riff that shudders your every bone, a hook that pervades your brain, and a bridge that melts your heart. All of this done with admirable restraint, and an impressive congealing of their influences into convincingly original melodies and arrangements.

But for a band that shows such restraint in their performance, the themes throughout the album appear to be rampant with luxuriousness. One could quickly shelve their lyrics as straight-out pop idioms, yet with repeated listens they seem to offer some vivid imagery that’s possibly related to fiery sexuality (“Ardiente Figura” and “A Nivel Carnal”), and seaside rapture (“Las Corrientes del Golfo” and “Viaje a Brasil”). Borja Rosal has allegedly succeeded at his conscious attempt to sound a lot less like Orange Juice frontman Edwyn Collins, though when his roaring voice gets paired with new-wavey staccato riffage (such as in “Las Corrientes de Golfo”) the Soda Stereo extrapolation CF’s own Gio Guillén mentioned does start to feel a bit inevitable to point at. Alba Blasi’s occasional appearances though, show off a tonal counterpoint that adds considerable breadth to Extraperlo’s palette, a band that here pulls together such elegance and energy from the most disparate of sounds.

Leaving barely any silences between tracks does nothing but reinforce the contrast in cohesiveness between their debut and sophomore records, which points out to the fact that Delirio Específico can be misinterpreted as the effort of a band still working to find their ground and tailoring what’s coming closer to be their dreamed-about sound. But perhaps that’s the whole point of Extraperlo. In an interview for PlayGround, when asked about the possibility of dropping an eventual third record, Borja Rosal stated they would need to find ways to do things differently, in order to keep the creative spirit alive. It’s their own nonconformity that truly defines Extraperlo. And in Delirio Específico, as a band that’s still experimenting with expanding their own palette, they’ve succeeded at admirably looking for new ways to conjure leisure-evoking melodical opulence, afrobeat-inspired guitar licks, and 80’s pad beats into truly stuttering internet-era pop songs. - Club Fonograma - Pierre Lestruhaut