Melenas - Ahora (2023)

Melenas' first two albums were garage rock-influenced, peppy, fresh-faced indie pop that hovered around the B+ mark. Following the release of 2020's Dias Raros, the Spanish quartet did a sonic rethink and traded out the jangling guitars for vintage synths while expanding their range of influences from the garage to areas as different as the Radiophonic workshop where Stereolab learned their tricks to the oldies record bin where albums by OMD and the Human League could be found. It makes for quite a stylistic left turn, but on Ahora, Melenas make it work amazingly well and in the process, they get a solid A. Switching between moody, machine-driven ballads ("Flor de la Frontera," "Dos Pasajeros") and bubbling uptempo pop like "1986" (which sounds like a Flying Nun classic given a keyboard injection) the group display the same charming melodic sense and sure-handed playing as they have in the past, only now they've added inspiration to the mix. They handle the synths like they were guitars, adding textures by strumming and inserting bleeps and bloops like they were riffs, while taking the occasional solo that might sound overdone on guitar, but sounds perfect here. Check the expert layering of keys on the closing "1.000 Cancione." Along with all the adroitly arranged electronics, there are live drums powering some of the more Motorik-influenced songs like "K2," and the guitars reappear to play a supporting role with a double shot of droning and early Lab indie rock goodness on "Tu y Yoi" and "Mal." Ahora is a stunning, daring rebirth for the band, full of songs that sound wonderfully hooky on first listen, but also have the kind of depth and innate emotional content that give them an ageless sound.