The debut album from Cristobal and the Sea, Sugar Now, arises out of London, though it wouldn’t be a stretch if it were Buenos Aires, Madrid, or Mexico City. This album follows on the heel of a moderately well received 2014 EP, Peach Bells. In the short span of a year, the quartet shows a startling amount of progression and growth. No heavier can the bossa nova, funk beatdown be laid. Trust that this entire album sounds like the styles of Animal Collective and Diego Garcia crashed into each other; leaving a complex, vibrant sound that works its way into the back heads and refuses to leave.
Employing the work of producer Rusty Santos, who has worked in tandem with big independent names like Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and Born Ruffians, the influence is present from the first track as “Counting Smiles” breaks in with the plucking of Spanish chords and rising, gentle voices. The Latin beat is well established here and important as it carries itself throughout the rest of the album. This track carries into two other single-worthy tracks, “Sunset Of Our Troubles” and “Fish Eye,” that begin with a very similar acoustic pluck that includes an extra note or two. The trend picks up as the tempo begins to slow, yet the soundscape opens up greatly. It feels like the closed-in coffee shop vibe as the first few tracks, complete with guitar, bass and a dancing flute, open up into a wide concert hall of ambient noise. This is best demonstrated as the transition is made from “Bear Paws” into “New Carlton House,” and the hopping tempo of “Mary Ann.”
The album finally shuts down with a bang as “Miasma” is effectively a rambling spin of sound. Sugar Now does what a lot of albums can’t as it exists as a patchwork of many visible influences while still succeeding in getting lost in itself. The sound is dynamic as it fluidly uses English and Spanish throughout.
Recommended Tracks: 1 (Counting Smiles), 2 (Sunset Of Our Troubles), 3 (Fish Eye), 5 (Legs Gone Feathers), 9 (Mary Ann)
Recommended If You Like: Animal Collective, Diego Garcia, Grizzly Bear, Panda Bear
Do Not Play: None
Written by Dylan Fox on 12/06/15