After taking a brief hiatus, the Puerto Rican band Balún has reunited once again and this time they're living in Brooklyn (Greenpoint to be exact). I first discovered the band when flipping through the 99 cent bin at a record shop in Chicago and I have to say that it was the best 99 cent purchase I ever made in my life.
If you like Sigur Ros and the Freelance Whales, then you'll love this band. Lead vocalist Angelica has an ethereal voice that washes over you as you are taken in by the layers of sound from the ambient synths, poppy rhythms, and technically complex melodies.
I went to their show at BPM studios in Williamsburg a few weeks ago and I was happy to learn that they are completely adorable and even more talented in concert. Balún plays a melange of instruments (like the bouzouki!) in an almost seamless way. Most of the songs they performed were off of their most recent album- Memoria Textil. You can hear a new sense of maturity in the album, which was written over a three year period. Yet the band maintains their down-to-earth spirit and even hand makes each CD case. Go hear the band at their next show on September 4th at LPR and on September 18th at CoCo66!
Las Olas - [mp3]
Buy Memoria Textil now!
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