Los Lobos del Recuerdo

Lobos is one of those Buenos Aires province backwater towns where nothing much happens, ever. It may be an accidental allusion, but it’s just the sort of place where La Chicana would be ideal headliners at a general-store gig for an assortment of smartphone-wielding gauchos, ersatz estancieros and gringos tangueros. But the ‘Wolves of Memory’ of the title roam everywhere in Argentina, tearing into the past. What La Chicana have been doing for almost three decades is reframing and reworking Argentina’s folk forms, mixing them up with global influences and resisting pigeonholes and the political compromise of the mainstream. On their tenth studio album, founding (and romantic) duo Dolores Solá and Acho Estol display their trademark eclecticism and indefatigable curiosity. ‘Borracha’ is a vivacious fiddle-led ditty akin to a reel. ‘Crisálida’ – penned by Solá – is a waltz channelling a tango mood. ‘Cuyanita’ is a chacarera-inflected composition that recalls the Silvio/Sosa classic ‘La Maza’. ‘Pugni Chiusi’ is a risky venture into 60s Italian balladeering. ‘Para Verte Gambear’ is a candombe dedicated to Maradona. La Chicana continue to dribble, dodge and score quality goals. Post-dictatorship Argentina has been a new kind of shitshow; this is its antidotal soundtrack.