27 September 2024

MOURA – Fume Santo De Loureiro (2024, EP/CD Spinda Records)

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Spinda Records

Format: EP, One-Side Album, Limited Edition, Total Clear Vinyl w/ Silk-Screen printing, 500 copies

Format: CD, Album, Digisleeve, 100 copies

Release Date: 31 May 2024

Back in 2022, I was reviewing one of the best 50 albums of that year, “Axexan, Espreitan” by Moura (check the list here), it was their 2nd album. Finally, after a couple of years, this exciting Spanish band (hailing from A Coruña, Galicia) has a new record out, a lovely EP entitled “Fume Santo De Loureiro” that was conceived as the soundtrack for the short film “Nai”, directed by filmmaker Tito Refoxo, who also worked on the screenplay alongside Brais do Rei, the current drummer of Moura. Moura’s Bandcamp page says: “Following their s/t debut album, the stand-alone single “Muiñeira da Maruxaina”, and their second studio album “Axexan, Espreitan”, Moura, known for their commitment to exploring and preserving Galician tradition, gets involved in a multidisciplinary project that tells the story of a family from the village of Rois in A Coruña (Spain), who becomes embroiled in a dark tragedy with the disappearance of the youngest member of the family. “Fume Santo De Loureiro” consists of three main songs, accompanied by an introduction and small cuts of incidental music that showcase the band’s more experimental side. It’s a dark album where traditional vocals and percussion guide through the process of loss; progressive chants create a hypnotic mantra against the evil eye; and lullabies (“arrolos”) turn into ghostly laments”...

Moura consists of Belém Tajes (vocals, percussion), Diego Veiga (vocals, electric guitar, percussion), Fernando Vilaboy (Hammond, mellotron, synths, percussion, vocals), Hugo Santeiro (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion, vocals), Brais do Rei (drums, percussion), and Pedro Alberte Aguado (bass). There are 3 tracks on the first side with silk-screen printing on the second, the EP kicks off with “Agoiro/Pranto”, which starts with an acoustic guitar under a quite Proggy environment, there’s a slight psychedelic touch while a Folkie cloak covers everything, and the mood to experiment and to improvise a bit is more than obvious! “Contra Os Males De Aireada” uses the same acoustic kind of soundscape, but now there’s more darkness all over the place, traditional Galician vocals, and Synths (courtesy of my friend Fernando Vilaboy) that create a unique Neo-Proggy scenery where the band finds ‘fertile soil’ to step on and built a cinematic Psych-Prog atmosphere, soon the Prog sound becomes Epical blending the Past with the Present. In contrast at the last 90 seconds the band performs some kind of weird experimental piece of Psych cinematic-like music! The third and last track is called “Canto De Berce”, a glorious slow-marching funereal tune with a strong 70s Progressive Folk feel infused with the necessary small dose of Kraut… “Fume Santo De Loureiro” is a cool “appetizer” as it whetted my appetite for more original music by Moura… I’ll be patiently waiting… TimeLord Michalis