The YoYouMeTú Trilogy: Vol 1 & 2

Never judge a book by its cover. And here's the proof: behind the clumsy Photoshop artwork and liner notes there are two discs of ambitious, eclectic and intoxicating Latin psychedelia. Fronted by Puerto Rican/Peruvian composer and multi-instrumentalist Abraham Gomez-Delgado, Zemog el Gallo Bueno is the sound of New York unravelling. All its cracks and hardships are on show, with Gomez-Delgado caught in the middle. Having given up the medication that he had been prescribed for depression, here he sounds reborn, full of ideas and willing to bare his soul to whoever will listen. From the slow, sultry salsa of ‘Contenido Adentro’ and ‘Remote Control’ to the faster plena numbers or remarkable Gil Scott-Heron-like social commentaries, there is rarely any let-up across both volumes of this release. Gomez-Delgado's musical mind moves in all directions, backed by a multi-talented Latin big band with sax, percussion and Gomez-Delgado's guitar to the fore. The result is impressively cohesive, often heading off on new and surprising tangents but never sounding contrived or overly-ambitious, resulting in an energetic and heartfelt new Latin psych release.