5

Federico Aubele—5

By Luis A. Apolaya

Federico Aubele brings to the table an interesting mix: traditionally Hispanic sounds such as Spanish guitar and elements of Argentinian tango combined with electronic beats and trip-hop. Not necessarily a depressing collection of tracks, but airy vocals, an echoey accordion, and a poignant guitar playing along an atmospheric electronic background are not uplifting either. Nonetheless, Aubele performs his instruments with great dexterity, and the electronic production very well complements the emotions he portrays. RIYL: Portishead, post-2000 Radiohead, Thom Yorke, James Blake, pretty good acoustic guitar playing. NO FCCs.

*1. (3:16) Nice guitar intro, moderate trip-hop beat throughout, tango accordion in the background, pretty good female vocals accompanied by Aubele in the chorus.
*2. (3:21) Kind of a reggae tempo, flamenco-eque guitar throughout, mellow, background of string instruments, echo-laden electronic drums.
3. (2:49) Instrumental, sounds like background music to a slideshow of depressing images, guitar and piano accompanied by melancholy electronic production.
4. (3:09) More trip-hop beats and nice guitar, slightly upbeat, not much difference from rest of the album.
5. (3:57) Instrumental, slow, more sad guitar and piano with more sad electronic background, gets a little repetitive after half the song.
*6. (3:17) Very nice female vocals, very nice strings accompaniment, upbeat enough you could nod your head to it, more great guitar playing, pretty good chorus.
7. (2:49) Instrumental, based on digitally modified accordion loop, slow beat, melancholy and introspective.
*8. (3:01) Acoustic guitar riff stands out during song, a little more pop than trip-hop, accordion makes appearances, a little more hopeful than melancholy.
**9. (3:58) Very vivid electronic production, great female vocals, hint of reggae.
*10. (3:09) Instrumental, more of a reggae tempo, interesting background, oh that saxophone.
11. (2:36) Beat is “Paid in Full” slowed down, soft vocals from Aubele, nothing more different from rest of album.
12. (2:31) Trip-hop accompanied by guitar, poignant strings, fits well as a closing song.