A great band from Granada is always suitable to round off a glorious year. The Andalucian mutating Madrid, from the Penélope venue, once more gave another compact and solid live performance, as is customary.
Before them, the quintet from Vigo, Maryland, displayed a hardworking and brilliant progressive power pop which warmed up engines, mostly echoing the elegant Los años muertos. But they did not forget about their original English period, saying goodbye with a horse-trading Anglo-potpourri cover which closed the pleasant and adherent appetizer of sound.
Certain past, present and future. Niños Mutantes, like a fine wine, is one of those bands with an impeccable trajectory, coiner of hymns, worker, and one of those which make you realize why you love music so f***ing much.
The first Mutant round opened with the sharp and so right Es lo que hay, elaborated by Andrés with skill from the Roland, to which Juan Alberto ventured to hoist El circo ending these first grounds of El futuro with the exquiste initiation guitar in Robot, another grand song-declaration of intent which definitely toned up the audience to keep enjoying many minutes of a pop-rock worth many carats.
The following songs would come from the iconic and successful Las noches de insomnio, going through the wonderful La puerta and going on with ostentation anthem, Naúfragos, during which all of us went crazy in one more succulent moment.
The philo-acoustic pause would come from the hands of the surfer Barronal and El miedo, instants in which Andrés and Juan Alberto pulled off a double dragon, heartfelt and elaborate. Then a delicatessen arrived, El sol de invierno: Manual de autoayuda, crescent composition, if ever there was one.
With the pertinent and contextualizing Caerán los bancos we experienced one more climax to face the last stretch before the invading final.
Counting on the help of part of their staff and with the keyboards, Volverás and the splendidly decisive and (auto)honoring Boomerang were strung together, one more coda to keep swelling a glorious repertoire, within the reach of very few.
Te favorece tanto estar callada could not be missing and it was magically tied together with Hundir la flota for the occasion.
The encoré could not have started any better, the mutant hymn-like brutality of Todo va a cambiar stunned joyful and with a karaoke character through every pore of the room and of those present. The most recent anthem in which Nani’s drums ride forcefully and passionately, which does not cease to expand and conquest music lovers, and which I personally consider one of the essential and undeniable grand songs of 2014.
The last duo was that of Errante (canción mutante) and the insomne La voz, so very suitable to round off more than twenty masterful and thorough compositions.
Another assemble to keep congratulating, a great concert to say goodbye to the musically magic year 2014.
The only negative note was delivered by an organization which did not allow the media to do their job properly —I will never understand the vip lane of the audience in the form of a farmyard with an undemocratic sonic gesture, and by no means, in an independent music concert—. In the music world we have to take care of the people who are going to cover the events, the photographers and writers have to be able to move freely, it has to be a healthy reciprocal interconnection. But nothing can ever impede the most powerful and irreversible thing, good music and good songs, they stay, heal, and make up for almost anything, and so I had the pleasure to agree with Nani and Juan Alberto, two damn great musicians, humble and good people, who make you regret plunging into your love for music less and less every day.
