‘A Mexican Music for Airports‘
The Village Voice already took the best description of Café Tacuba’s Reves/Yosoy.
The Voice’s reviewer called Reves, the all-instrumental half of the double album, a “Mexican Music for Airports.” The description is well earned.
Café Tacuba crafts some rather daring textures with Reves (“reverse” in English), foregoing the usual emphasis on hooks for mood and timbre. Angular melodies, outbursts of noise, bizarre samples — Reves almost resembles the work of John Zorn and Wayne Horvitz. But spiritually, Reves takes after Eno’s seminal work.
According to the Voice and CDNow’s All-Star News, Cafe Tacuba handed Reves to its label, who then expressed concern over how to market the album. In short, WEA Latina didn’t get it.
Café Tacuba then went back into the studio and recorded a second album of songs with vocals. Did it make a dent on the so-called marketing challenge? Hardly.
Yosoy (“I Am”) sports the most introspective work Cafe Tacuba has done to date. The anthems and sly musical jokes of its previous albums make way for a set of quiet tunes. But don’t expect ballads — these songs are every bit as challenging as its companion work.
Yosoy is the album R.E.M. failed to make with Automatic for the People.
Kronos fans take note: The quartet makes a guest appearance on Reves and includes new cellist Jennifer Culp.