Ballet Mecánico - Primera Secuencia

A Google search for Ballet Mecánico reveals Ballet Mécanique, a Dadaist, post-Cubist film directed by Fernand Léger and Dudley Murphy with input from visual artist Man Ray. A disturbing, jarring piece of work with a dissonant score.

The Ballet Mecánico that's of interest to us, is a project of Fernando Pinzás of the band Varsovia, with Primera Secuencia (First Sequence) the debut full-length release. The wonderfully retro Horror themed cover-art comes courtesy of Gonzalo de Montreuil while thealbum is being released by Peruvian label Buh Records. As someone who's open to new artists, especially those from other regions in the world (outside the US and Europe), I'm excited therefore to be reviewing this.

'No cederé' (I Won't Give In) sees an embrace of early 80's Synth-Pop and New Wave, think Visage fronted by a female Vocalist, in this case Susana Fátima. There's a danceable New Order element present too, especially tracks such as 'Blue Monday'; a seriously fun, upbeat opening number that bodes well for the rest of the album. 'Rosa era inocente' (Rosa was Innocent) features Laura Rosales on Vocals and is slightly more subdued by comparison, somewhat reminiscent of The Human League's more serious output before the outright commerciality of Dare, but combined with a dreamier ambience. Mascarilla (Mask) sees a little more Techno being incorporated with a steady, four to the floor drumbeat. However, unlike a lot of the music produced in that genre, there's a genuine warmth and soul which elevates it beyond being just bland backing music to get high and potentially laid to. Luxsie's elegant Vocals and the shimmering synthwave wouldn't sound out of place on the soundtrack to Nicholas Winding Refn's Drive.

'Como la última vez' (Like Last Time) features Noelia Cabrera and has a solid Post-Industrial beat ala Einstürzende Neubauten but with more of an ethereal backdrop that helps makes it more accessible. I can also say with some degree of certainty that the aforementioned German legends wouldn't feature such delicate, otherworldly Vocals. 'La c iudad de los incendios' (City of Fires) w/ Elva Cío, has a Darkwave vibe as intonated from the title. You could easily envision dancing along to it in a Goth club alongside classics such as Ministry's 'Every Day is Halloween', right up my street in other words. 'La Memoria es un acto político (No hay perdón ni olvido)' (Memory is a political act (There's no forgiveness or forgetting) with its thumping EBM beats is a reflection of the track's hard hitting anti-totalitarian/anti-facist themed lyrics and message. The track seemingly paraphrases philosopher George Santayana's famous quote “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” and its one of the album's Punkier pieces which, whatever your personal politics, makes for a welcome change in tone.

'Fábricas del Miedo' (Fear Factories) continues the revolutionary fervour with a sound akin to a less chaotic, more rhythmic Atari Teenage Riot and with perfect vocalisation accompaniment by Anahell of Las Ratapunks. A formidable track. Testamento' (Testament) turns down the temperature with a return to dark, lush Pop. Its unsurprising that it, alongside 'No cederé' was chosen as a single. Speaking of 'No cederé', the album concludes with a remix of it by Italoconnection who give it a Giorgio Moroderesque disco twist. Is it an essential inclusion? Not exactly, but it does conclude proceedings on a celebratory joyful high.

Ballet Mecánico is the kind of release one would associate with Toronto's Artoffact Records, in its embrace of 80's Synthpop/New Wave, however there's also enough bite that prevents it from being too saccharine an affair. Highly recommended.

https://buhrecords.bandcamp.com