Disco de Café Tacuba: “Sino”

I am 48 hours into listening this album almost non-stop (even while I sleep). Every cafe tacvba album deserves this attention. You have to get used to the albums to fully understand their greatness. This album, however, is attractive to the ear from the start. Their choruses and their riffs are surprisingly catchier from the get-go than any of their previous releases. 17 years into their career, this sixth album has minimal experimentation compared to their previous albums, but it is only a sign of their maturation. They're not playing around with new things in this album. They know exactly what they want to do and they straight up do it. The lyrics are some of their strongest efforts, dealing with identity and their personal fit in society. This is probably their most "rock" album - almost no mexican musical influence. Just a straight guitar, drum, vocals album with the mandatory keyboard and electronic beats from meme. Yet there are very few, if any, weak tracks in this album. It may (and probably will) be argued that they've gone more anglo, but with Ruben Albarran's voice (ixxi xoo), how can anyone seriously claim that? As you go from tracks 1-15, every track only strengthens the overall output of this album, from the awesome two-part song of "seguir siendo"/"tengo todo" to the perfect "volver a comenzar" to the great drum solo in "gracias". Every listen makes me love this album more and more.

Do I recommend this album? I could go on and on as to why this is my favorite Cafe Tacvba album, but I'd rather you spend your time listening to this work and realizing what a masterpiece it is. In an age of iTunes where single tracks make an artist, here come the Tacvbos and show complete albums can still be made. The four years I had to wait for this release were more than well worth it. Here's to more greatness coming from this quartet.

No major stylistic departures here for Cafe Tacuba. "Sino" is a mature, cohesive set of punchy pop tunes that builds beautifully from start to finish. Lead vocalist/shapeshifter Ruben (known this time around as Ixaya Mazatzin Tleyotl)is in fine voice, and shares vocals freely with the rest of the band. Lyrical themes explore familiar Tacuba-esque questions of polarity and identity, similar to previous efforts but perhaps a little more grown-up.

The guitar-based music on "Sino" pulses and pops, with some goofy synth touches and periodic bursts of psychedelic complexity, but nothing too harsh. For the most part, the band uses "live" drummers on the album, as they did on "Cuatro Caminos" (and on their killer US tour a couple years ago), strengthening their sound greatly from their earlier machine beats. Production here is top-notch, clear and well-differentiated.

Why only four stars? Well, it would take something pretty perfect to get five stars. The melodies could have been more interesting, the songs a little richer in hooks. Minor complaints, though. This is easily one of Cafe Tacuba's most consistent efforts, and an album that works extremely well as a whole.

What "Sino" lacks in knock-out beauty and brilliance (my gold standard in that area would be "RE", that erratic masterpiece), it makes up for with maturity, consistency and a building sense of intrigue. This hangs together much better than "Cuatro Caminos," and is SO much more listenable than, say, "Soy/Reves."

Thanks, guys - great album.

This CD is one of the best CDs I've heard in years. Tacuba is probably my favorite band, and this is their best CD to date. This is a continuation of the sonic transformation they started on "Cuatro Caminos", with a darker and more polished sound. The album is full of lush textures and ear candy that makes the great songs even better. Whether or not you speak Spanish, this album is a masterful achievement. Highly recommended.

Algo nuevo de Café Tacvba. Ellos siempre han sido interesentes en materia de sonido, y este disco parte de Cuatro Caminos casi inmediato. No hay una gran distancia como por ejemplo entre Re y Soy/Revés. (Si se pueden crear dos 'eras' de Café Tacvba: Antes y después de Soy/Revés un disco mal apreciado). Aunque a muchos no les gustará si se ponen a pensar en sus primeras canciones, la lírica que trabajan en este disco es mucho mejor. Yo pienso que juegan con la introspección mucho más a fondo que el anterior, y veo el nombre del disco en dualidad: ¿Hablan del sino, esa fuerza que nos empuja a vivir la vida predispuesta; o hablan del libre albedrío de decir sí o no a algo? El primer sencillo, 'Volver a comenzar' hace esta pregunta tanto líricamente como musicalmente cuando a eso del minuto 3, cambia totalmente la música para pintar un nuevo recuadro a la letra. Se nota que se han acoplado es estos años, a pesar de que siguen siendo cuatro individuos diferentes. Esto se nota en el uso extenso de varias voces, algo que no es nuevo, pero ahora si que se 'distinguen' como matizan una experiencia individual.

--------

Something new from Café Tacvba. They have always been interesting in a sound sense, and this record is an immediate departure from Cuatro Caminos. There isn't a great distance like, for example, between Re and Soy/Revés. (You can create two `eras' de Café Tacvba: Before and after Soy/Revés a misunderstood record). Even when it will not please those who think about their early songs, the lyrics they work on this record is much better. I believe they are working with introspection much deeper than before, and see the name as duality: ¿Are they speaking of destiny, that force that pushes us to live life in predisposition; or are they taking about free will and saying yes or no to something? The first single, `Volver a comenzar' asks this question no only lyrically but musically when around minute 3 changes the rhythm totally to paint a new background to the lyric. You can note that they have been integrated in these years, inclusive when they are four different individuals. You can see it in the extensive use of various voices, something that it is not new, but now is a way of `distinguishing' a coloring of an individual experience.

I have been listening to Cafe Tacuba since its origins, and I have found this Sino as one of the most balanced albums.

First, its lyrics are extremely structured and interconnected, you will hear coherent messages about some main topics: crisis (Sino / seguir siendo), redemption/restart trips (volver a comenzar / vamonos), negation from materialism (tengo todo / volver a comenzar).