Short Reviews [Arnoldo's Lizards - 2021 - "Satanic Attack or Divine Punishment"]

Arnoldo's Lizards - 2021 - "Satanic Attack or Divine Punishment"

(23:28; Melodic Revolution Records)

The latest signing to Melodic Revolution Records is a duo based in Mar del Plata, Argentine, comprising Alvare Goco (vocals and backing vocals) and Jack Dimensions (vocals, backing vocals, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, and programming). For the album they have also been joined by Elias Ciambotti (bass and electric guitars), Ezequiel Volpe (bass), Randall Lewer (electric guitars), Florabril Leguimus (backing vocals) and Andres Guazzelli (backing vocals). The only way to really describe this album is as art rock, as musically this is all over the place. The main feature of the album are the vocals of Alvare who sounds as if she has been classically trained, and is simply wonderful, but the songs themselves are a very strange combination of different styles. The first time I played this I did so four times back-to-back, and by the end of it I was still confused by what I was hearing, and I still cannot decide if the issue is with me or with the music itself. This is an unsettling album in that it is moving in so many different areas, from pop to faux classical, prog and funk to symphonic. I get the impression, rightly or wrongly, that this is a very visual band and that it will make more sense in a live setting but all I can say for sure is that it confuses the hell out of me when I play it. But, that does not make it a bad album at all, just one I am still attempting to get my head around. It is out of time, as to my mind it should have been festering and growing out of the incredible CBGB’s scene in the Seventies, sitting alongside Television and Talking Heads, as they can go from something that is quite rocky into a Latin break which would be more at home on a Santana release if it weren’t for the manic laughing in the background. This will not be to everyone’s tastes, and to be honest I am still not sure if it is to mine, but I know I would much rather listen to bands like this who are genuinely trying to do something different than sound like everyone else at the zoo. Each song is very different indeed, and this feels way more like an artistic performance than “just” an album. This is one for those who want their music to be out in left field and as far removed from the sensible mainstream as possible.