Spiritual fervour fuels much at the glittering heart of Spaniards Exquirla’s debut – a product of the meeting of minds between instrumental rockers Toundra and flamenco artist Niño de Elche.
Sung in the flamenco ululations of frontman Francisco Contreras’s native tongue, Niño’s reverent delivery is at times – as in the spellbinding midst of Hijos De La Rabia’s sonorous percussion and charming bass runs – a fervent chant more focused with gazing inward, then elsewhere resonating as if sung from the top of the Seville Cathedral. Such fanatic divination adds profundity to the thunderous proclamations of heavy that permeate sunlit soundscapes and wide horizons filled with instrumentally engrossing paths that compel emotion. After a while, you’ll stop waiting for the heavy and settle in for a ride that’s less concerned with conforming to genre than it is in exploring emotional and instrumental fusions unlike anything you’ve ever heard.
