Pura Mana: La Banda Es La Ley 12″

Description

Following up from their previous 7 released on Roachleg Records, Pura Mana return once again with 8 new songs of electrifying punk at 45rpm.

These tracks offer the same bouncy punk that has become their trademark, but incorporate more of a new wave influence with extra synth lines, handclaps and sinister lyrics. Think Angew-esque riffs meets Peter & The Test Tube Babies sophomore masterpiece The Mating Sounds Of South American Frogs with some Second Empire Justice mixed in for good measure.

Our take: If youve been paying attention to the Sorry State newsletter for a while, you know we are fanatics about Pura Mana. I think everything the band has released so far has gotten Record of the Week, and their latest album, La Banda Es La Ley (The gang is the law) continues the streak. What do I love so much about Pura Mana? For starters, I love the way they balance their musical ambition with being dirty, grimy, and fucking punk; theyve got both feet planted in the gutter, but theyre looking at the stars! As an aging punk whose tastes have grown (arguably) more sophisticated over the years, yet remains addicted to punks rawness and energy, its like Pura Mana gets me. Their music is dense, each song a maze of criss-crossing melodies and rhythms, but thoughtfullyperhaps even obsessivelyarranged, moving from part to part in ways that feel natural but not obvious. These are songs that reward close, attentive listening, yet they dont demand that kind of listeningtheyre not precious or pretentious, and they have the energy and directness to tickle the pleasure centers of my punk brain from the very first listen. The individual components of each songthe melodic lead guitar lines, the driving but hooky bass lines, the vocals that move from searing and punk to kinda silly and cartoonish (those rolled Rs!), the infrequent but thrilling eruptions of synthare so exciting on their own (and frequently have me saying, whoa! that part was sick! when Im listening), but theyre supercharged when theyre stitched together into these miniature punk symphonies. Ditto for the album as a whole, which climaxes with the closing track, Amor de Coladera (Veneno Y Glam). This song sounds like nothing Pura Mana has attempted thus far, with a kind of woozy, sun-bleached rhythm and a lead guitar line huge enough to power a hit Oasis single. It might have been too much, but vocalist Cabeza balances it out with his most outrageous and punk performance on the record (really taking the rolled Rs to the next level LOL). The song also has a climactic bridge that almost brings a tear to my eye. You might call it a guitar solo because the guitarist takes center stage and its in the spot where a guitar solo usually sits, but its not just a bunch of wanky, show-y bullshit it builds upon and elaborates the songs central melody in a thrillingly sophisticated way. Pura Manas guitarist has the chops to be a classical composer, yet instead of wearing a tuxedo, hes pouring all that thought and feeling into these grimy-ass punk songs. I fucking love it. And just like with the bands last record on Roachleg, the artwork is as exciting, innovative, and completely fucking punk as the music, with a stunning jacket hand-screened on chipboard and a risographed lyric insert. Another brilliant and essential record from this band that never repeats themselves and always finds new ways to raise the bar.