Arizona Baby - Second To None (2009)

Arizona Baby (yes, the film by Nicolas Cage) was formed in 2003, and is composed by Javier Vielba (voice), Rubén Marrón (guitar) and Marcos Úbeda (rhythm). They self-released their first LP "Songs to Sing Along" in 2005, but it was not until 2009 when Subterfuge opted for them (after recording "Standing in the Way of Control" by Gossip, a song they recorded with LA that year to celebrate the Day of Music) and released "Second to none", his second album (the one that concerns us) that has been a revelation this summer (they have come to support Mark Knopfler). Arizona Baby sounds to country, to psychedelia, to American west without leaving Castile. Its sound surprises and (notice) improves every time you listen to it. And "Second to None" is a record like a pine tree ...

Start the trip with "Shiralee", song that invites you to put on your crocodile skin boots with spurs and dance until you leave your heels in the sand, to continue with "The Truth", in that same line of influence of country (or American folk, as the reader prefers). After the start, we stopped a little bit with "Ouch" and "Runaway", which are the perfect prelude to another song from the album "A Tale Of The West", where they dare with a rumba (yes, they heard it well) . "Ballad of A." and "Getaway" are other stories that speak of flight, painted with a psychedelia that ends up enveloping you. And with "Dirge" they give way to a change of the third, the lyrics are modernized and they talk about the 20th century, with a rhythm that shows a greater pop influence. Finally, "Muddy River" is pure sixties pop, distortion, and dirty sound; and "X'ed Out" and "Mindful of Thoughts", the colophon of the album and the perfect ending to the trip.

A disc that, in addition, live sounds a lot better. I think we are facing one of the indie bands that will be the most talked about this summer. So now I can only say: "You better watch your back: there I will be"