Bubu - El Eco Del Sol (2018)

As the 21st century churns on it's amazing how popular classic progressive rock has made somewhat of a renaissance with some bands like Gentle Giant finding surging sales of their ambitious musical gems that have been surpassing the sales of the initial releases of the 1970s. As the public tires of simple and uninspiring musical mediocrity and turns to the more complex constructs to get their fix, they will ultimately find themselves scouring the classic years to see what they've missed out on. While many a band struggled to stay true to their musical vision, most folded under the financial pressure and zero record company backing. However despite the hardship they endured, many managed to release some of the absolute best music ever laid down to any musical format.

While one can point to England, France and Germany as having the lion's share of classic prog, they were hardly the only game in town. While lesser known Argentinean prog may not have been as popular in terms of world interest, this South American country which is more famous for the tango than prog has indeed generated some top notch progressive rock with the Buenos Aires based BUBU possibly ranking as the best the country after having dished out their classic 70s prog in the form of their masterpiece "Anabelas." While the band was active from 1975-79, they only managed to crank out the one album and then disappeared into the ethers never to be heard from again.

Until the year 2016 when founder, composer, bassist and band leader Daniel Andreoli decided he should jump on the bandwagon of prog rock's upsurge in world popularity and resurrected his classic band to catch the new prog wave hitting every corner of the globe. So resurrect it he did, however this is not a typical reunion of past members but rather Andreoli rounding up the talents of a whole new younger generation, whipping them into shape and showing them how prog was done in the good old days. While this may sound tantamount to herding cats in a tuna cannery, somehow his efforts on the 2016 comeback "Resplandor" were quite satisfying.

"Resplandor" was quite the teaser. Seemingly emerging from nowhere with no prior warnings, BUBU was back which offered the prog world an initial gasp of excitement only to be quashed by the fact that this was just a three track EP that hit the fifteen and half minute mark. While no guarantees were given that this was a teaser prognosticating a bona fide comeback album, it was a satisfying return to form for this Argentinean outfit so beloved by many a proghead around the globe. Well, lo and behold, it was an omen indeed that the great BUBU was back for a second run and finally in 2018 we see the release of the long awaited second album EL ECO DEL SOL (The Echo Of The Sun) a full 40 years after "Anabelas."

Yeah, many a classic prog band that released a single album has made a comeback in years past only to disappoint beyond belief including the greats like Maxophone, Gnidrolog and Cherry Five just to name a very, very few. What sounds like a great idea to latch onto the current trend of retro prog doesn't always pan out as many bands seem to lose the mojo that made their music great in the first place, however BUBU thankfully still got it! Yep, Andreoli has lost none of his prog chops in the least bit and even though he's working with an entirely new generation of musicians, he successfully ekes out all the required ebbs and flows that made "Anabelas" so utterly brilliant.

If you were expecting something radically new from the BUBU of 2018 then you shouldn't bother. EL ECO DEL SOL faithfully picks up exactly where "Anabelas" left off and i would imagine that Andreoli has been working on some of these tracks for the past 40 years and perfecting them until they shimmer in the sun like a diamond. BUBU retains its core essence in every aspect. Eclectic as ever, the new rendition of the band returns with all those beautiful progified riffs and rhythms laid out symphonically and augmented with flutes, saxes and violins. Once again the choirs are back in full effect and Andreoli has lost none of his magic regarding the dynamic and mood shifts that made "Anabelas" a classic of the ages. One little disappointment of EL ECO DEL SOL is that it contains two tracks from the "Resplandor" EP, namely the title track and "Omer" but since they are such great track i guess i can't complain.

Unlike "Anabelas" which contained two sprawling tracks and a third shorty at a near 8 minute running mark, EL ECO DEL SOL exhibits eight shorter tracks but they all run together quite remarkably giving the album an overall unified feel. There is nothing on EL ECO DEL SOL that sounds out of place or derails the beautiful feeling that only BUBU can provide. Once again, BUBU dish out all the expected influences ranging from King Crimson, Genesis, ELP, Focus and their classical hero Tchaikovsky. The music runs on symphonic prog mode but adds touches of jazz, classical and occasional bursts of rock energy. The album is noticeably less aggressive and bombastic than "Anabelas" and drifts in a more ethereal mode yet retains a heavy presence of rock instrumentation. While Argentinean, BUBU's closest musical lineage sounds like they would easily fit into the Rock Progressive Italiano scene of the 70s as there are no tango tributes or anything tying the band to their geographical homestead.

As far as prog comebacks go, EL ECO DEL SOL is a smashing success and delivers everything i could want from a classic 70s prog band. While it does not outdo it's classic predecessor in intensity and compositional prowess, it does nevertheless deliver the goods as a brilliant sophomore album that in all honesty sounds like it truly could have come out two years after the debut "Anabelas." This album easily captures the zeitgeist of the original timeline of BUBU's first rendition and although some could deem that too safe for its own good, i would argue that i'd rather hear an anachronistic album that is done brilliantly than something half-baked that the band was trying to capture and had no realistic ability to pull it off. Andreoli knows his strengths and on EL ECO DEL SOL he nurtures them well making BUBU's long awaited comeback an effort well worth waiting for. Do expect a mellower album than "Anabelas" in the overall scheme but the compositional constructs exude the classic vibe that made that album so great.

Review by siLLy puPPy, Prog Archives