Labels: Existencia – Moment of Collapse
Review by: Oli Saunders
Ciudad Del Cabo blow me away, their 7” that came out a short while back is amazing and the two songs here are similarly great. Spanish emo which has a sort of 90s feel whilst at the same time fits in well with modern emo bands. And most importantly they have come up with their own unique style that doesn’t really copy anyone – well you can see influences but the sound is their own. So good to have a band bringing something different to the scene that is of such high quality, I have great expectations for them to continue to deliver over time along with Ulises Lima and hopefully some more Spanish bands influenced by them.
The songs on this split are definitely mellower than those on the 7”, with less intense sobbing and wailing. Don’t worry, it’s still there but is just a bit more chilled out. At first I guess I was hoping for more of the same but now I’m glad they are not just repeating the formula. These songs and the ones on the 7” compliment each other really well. Everything flows together, nice grooving guitars and bass, the drums have got a repetitive rhythm that works great too. If I was being harsh I would say that I slightly prefer the 7” songs, but only because I’m a sucker for the over the top parts. Overall Ciudad Del Cabo have got the potential to come up with one of the best emo LPs of modern times I think, let’s hope it happens.
Theraps play on the other side and are new to me. They contain ex members of Arse Moreira and Arcadhianonstabian, as well as Duran-Go who i’ve not heard of. This should give some idea as to what to expect, it’s solid Latin American screamo with intense vocal delivery and a hefty dose of melody. There are two songs and quite a lot of variance throughout. Some of the guitar parts remind me of Off Minor actually, they mix up clean and distorted parts really well. It’s got a slight epic feel but keeps everything interesting – it’s also pretty disjointed at times but this still works. And there’s a really great finale on the last track to top things off. If you like bands like Arse Moreira, Louise Cyphre and other Latin American screamo bands you will definitely enjoy this.
Last words – excellent split that both emo and screamo fans should enjoy. If you are fan of both then bonus!
5th August 2009