Rock en Español brings images of bands that are colorful and wacky, producing chaotic funhouse mixes of mariachi, hip-hop, metal, ska and klezmer music. While Café Tacuba transcended this label years ago, their success is still tethered to their identity as one of the best bands . . . in Mexico. With 1999’s ambitious double album Reves/Yo Soy, they made an artistic leap, with one album featuring traditional music and the other featuring experimental post-rock, electronica and avant garde classical. Cuatro Caminos (Four Ways) showcases all their influences into one intersection much like the Mexico City metro station the album is named after.
Along with longtime Argentinean producer Gustavo Santaolalla, the Tacubistas enlisted help from Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev) and Andrew Weiss (Ween). Percussionists Victor Indrizio (Beck) and Joey Waronker (Walt Mink, Beck, R.E.M.) also lend their sticks. The result is their most cohesive sounding album yet. Not to say the songs are homogenous. There is still a wide variety of styles, from the ska-inflected new-wave single “Eo” to the nearly croony balladry of “Eres” sung by keyboardist Emmanuel del Real. Lead singer (with the ever-mutating name) Elfego Buendía displays impressive range as he wails and whispers the songs, which are not a pastiche, but rather, a defining, ground-breaking style unique to Café Tacuba. This is best exemplified by “Puntos Cardinales,” which covers all emotional bases — “Amor y dulzura/fuerza y coraje/cuatro puntos cardinales con los que navega/y cuando se pierde porque siente miedo olvida el pasado/no piensa en futuro y eso es suficiente (Love and sweetness/strength and anger/four principle points with which I navigate/I don’t think in the future and that is sufficient)”.”
This is music to party to (the infectious “Cero y Uno”), woo with (the dreamy psychedelia of “Mediodía”), and brood over (“Encantamiento Inútil,” the one song that could justify a Radiohead comparison). What’s remarkable is with all the leftfield influences and treated sounds, the music is always accessible. “Recuerdo Prestado” sounds like a long-list Beatles take in Spanish. “Qué Pasará” is immensely catchy, and “Camino y Vereda” is a powerful rocker, with keyboard and percussion work that recalls recent Dismemberment Plan. The album reaches an emotional apex with “Hoy Es.” The song starts with some psychedelic phasing and Indian strings, crescendoing to a climax that brings to mind “A Day In The Life.” The final cut, “Hola Adios,” it’s title again referencing the Beatles, cools things out with soft strings and tinkling keyboards. Over a decade into their career, Café Tacuba have produced their best album, and cemented their reputation as one of the best bands in the world.
