Ô Paradis & Nový Svet - Entre Siempre y Jamás Suben las Mareas, Duermen Las Ciudades

Entre Siempre y Jamás Suben las Mareas, Duermen Las Ciudades is a collaboration between the Spanish outfit Ô Paradis & the Austrian group Nový Svet. We were very impressed with Ô Paradis previous release, Serpiente De Luna, Serpiente De Sol, reviewed last month on Compulsion online. A shimmering guitar and birdcall open this album before launching into layers of percussion driven rhythmic sounds. O Paradis's Demian and Juergen Weber share the vocal duties with the Nový Svet frontman's voice being the rougher. It's a good counterpoint to Demian's melancholic melodic voice. The lyrics appear to be delivered in a series of languages but they're still pretty much meaningless to this monolingual reviewer. 'Tierra Gastada' is full of warmth featuring Spanish guitar. A double bass features prominently on 'Barcelona!' over layers of keyboards, and the occasional traditional jazz rhythm. 'Te Vi Pasar' is a lovely track of restrained Mediterranean pop.

Nový Svet's more wayward tendencies are kept in check here and in many ways the album really benefits from it. Voices are shared but the music arrangements are masterfully constructed through layers of percussion, keyboard and bass entwined with elements of music from their respective cultures. Entre Siempre y Jamás Suben las Mareas, Duermen Las Ciudades could easily be construed as pop music but there are enough experimental and surreal sounds to entice those interested in new musics. And while this doesn't match the magnificence of Serpiente De Luna, Serpiente De Sol it gels well enough and under the right listening conditions this is a solid and worthwhile release. For more information go to www.tesco-germany.com or www.tesco-distro.com