Mañanero
Self-Titled
Self-Released
Street: 08.04
Mañanero = Tom Waits + Iggy Pop + Blessure Grave

I like lo-fi, but you might want to listen to this album on some high-quality speakers. In my car’s weak sound system, I was ready to give up on Mañanero, but at home, I had much less trouble making it through the album. The audio peaks and crackles throughout the simplistic songs, which consist of low, growling vocals with repetitive guitar and the occasional sample. Mañanero feels experimental at times, like in track seven, “Alligator,” which is just rough falsetto vocals hovering over a looped sample of James Brown singing the word “Alligator.” I can handle Mañanero a few tracks at a time or if I’m in the right mood, but it’s not easy listening. –Steve Richardson