Time passes, the leaves fall, the groups separate, but there are things that refuse to change. Today goodbye to boy but does not let escape Densowhich is responsible for the production -almost exclusively- of the Mondragón artist’s debut album, published by Balaunkto. Tatta gets it right but doesn’t take risks in the feats section; Most of the guests we meet are close collaborators and even neighbors of Tatta, as is the case with the collective Etxepewhose members Axeri and Fane assist on three of the ten songs on the album, along with other local appearances signed by Bengo y boy, the latter in the introduction of the album. In production we find Maida, also associated with Etxepe, in addition to Malachianother usual suspect, and the Andalusian Jay Cas.
“Martin” It presents a sound marked by the strong presence, almost co-protagonist, of the guitar -recorded live, in addition- which gives the project, for the most part, a solid unity that gives it a certain identity. The album presents an epic general tone, sharper if possible in the first two songs, “ENEM” -with a very solvent contribution from Mutiko- and especially “Si Muriera Esta Noche”, in which Tatta unapologetically covers the hit. pop “Lucciano”, by Italian rapper Blanco. “Eres Como Estar En Class” proposes a comic counterpoint to the heavy tone of the beginning of the album; a virtue that will be developed later throughout the work.
The theme, clear from the beginning, revolves around love, insecurities, maturity and acceptance; concerns that we already found in Tatta’s previous references. In “Martin” It seeks to expose a more intimate side if possible, but it borrows so many concepts and topics from the genre that it ends up being impersonal and alien. Even so, and although the album’s narrative could have benefited from the use of somewhat less hackneyed images and ideas, the big picture behind the lyrics achieves a direct pop flavor that is nice and tender.
Today y Denso They look for their own sound at the expense of exploring all the genres they can think of; movement that we could applaud if it had been done with the appropriate measure and finding where each rhythm and each sound makes sense; something that does not happen at all in “Martin”. At times it may seem that there is a rush to transition between genres; as in the case of the Rio funk beat that sounds towards the end of the bachatera “Zure Falta Dut”. More pertinent, for example, is the Jersey-style kick pattern toward which “Where You Are” evolves. The genres crowd together, creating a palette that can bore more than contribute; although it does not cloud the general intention of the work, which is developed fluidly.
In this sense, it could also be debated to what extent the forays into the aesthetics of the narcocorrido are beginning to tire, especially in works that do not cultivate the sound beyond making fun of one or two tracks. In search of answers to this debate, we stumbled upon the simple but catchy “Sin Presegurarme”, the single with a “Jalisco-like” air that, despite barely fitting with the concept of the album, becomes one of the most memorable and fun moments.
This final third of the album is noticeably more upbeat than its beginning, peaking on “Zure Atzetik” (Winner of Gaztea’s Song of the Year!), with a deliciously tacky instrumental by the incombustible Malakias, before ending with a violent swerve that returns us to introspection and nostalgia in the track that gives the album its title. There remains the mystery of whether “Miller” refers to the last era of the longed-for Mac, with whom he shares that melancholy and that internal dialogue, between healers and self-destructives, so characteristic of Philly.