Has EL LOBO EN TU PUERTA gone through an identity crisis? ‘Santana Bandita’ is already the Spanish trio’s fourth album, breaking with the formulaic heavy blues of their first three records. With synths, samples and turntables joining the party, some might say it’s a hotchpotch, a zany album that was made to appeal to all those pining for the 90s. Old folks who, like me, start being picky each time a record takes its cue from the best decade in music.
With this intro, I probably lost half of the band’s prospects. That’s too bad, because EL LOBO EN TU PUERTA are not your everyday noise band, and definitely not the kind to make nonsense music just to sound arty and showoff in art galleries. Instead, the Spaniards meld all the genres they love — just like it was done in the 90s, put their guts on the table by way of “fuck you” to 2020 and its nonstop setbacks, letting off steam as if the end was near and they had nothing to lose.
Far from conveying a sense of desperation or prostration, EN LOBO EN TU PUERTA keep on honing their sound or adding effects; such as on “Madre”, with an intro worthy of Jane’s Addiction at their best, that continues on a earthquake-inducing punk cavalcade. Now that the mood is set, there is no way back, the wolf has entered the sheepfold and intends to feast out of it: it’s time for mayhem! We throw ourselves against each other, upside down, stage-diving from the floor to the ceiling, amps are dripping and fill the air with decibels, and the band keeps going with their pedal to the metal, until the tach implodes and the engine smokes. Will they ever slow down? Nope, rest if for the weary. And if running the car against the wall wasn’t enough, they hop on a bulldozer (“La llamaban nadie”) to annihilate any resistance from us.
Their music kicks so much ass that I’m not addicted to the adrenaline rushes, which are being slammed in your face all throughout the record, as if a gorilla on LSD was DJing the apocalypse’s OST. Come on, hop in, I’ll show you around and we’re gonna have some FUCKING FUN.
Last modified: 9 December 2020
