The Zipstream: Midwestern journies with Phonetic One, Latin travels with La Otrabanda
La Otrabanda
Welcome to The Zipstream, a semi-regular new column in which The A.V. Club will round up new local albums, mixtapes, and EPs that Madison-connected artists share via such channels as Bandcamp pages and upload sites. Got something you'd like us to consider? E-mail sgordon@theonion.com.
La Otrabanda, Pueblo Vivo (Vibrant People)
The word "vibrant" dies a little death every time a developer uses it to plug his latest condo-retail monstrosity, but the first album from La Otrabanda restores some innocence and cheer to it. The band's members all hail from Venezuela, and are currently split between Madison and Galicia, Spain. Naturally, it's hard to get everyone together in one spot, so you don't see them playing live around town too often, but member Glenn Fung says the band is putting together a Spring tour. Pieced together from recording sessions in both cities, and with the help of more than a dozen guest players, Pueblo Vivo does indeed ooze optimism, comfortably embracing everything from merengue to Ben Harper. It achieves that through the ramshackle, communal mingling of bright guitars, cuatro (a small Latin American stringed instrument), percussion, and earthy group vocals, not through utopian studio polish. The production and feel change a bit from one track to the next, but that just makes the album flow more naturally. A perky muted trumpet and circling electric guitar line lead "La Cebolla"—which, according to Fung, will be included on a forthcoming DVD compilation from prominent world-music label Putumayo—while "Camino Del Olvido" takes on a more pensive, sweeping feel. Download here (name-your-price).
Phonetic ONE, On The Bus Stop
Phonetic ONE's 2009 Phonetic Phenom EP was as good a reason as any to pay attention to the students of UW's innovative hip-hop program, First Wave. The Minneapolis-via-Madison MC's ease and flexibility continue to serve him well on the recently dropped 14-track album On The Bus Stop, even when he dwells on such college-kid subject matter as drinking too much and regretting it ("The Bottle Pt. 1"), chasing girls ("First Night Back In Town"), and "Home Sickness." Then again, it's also about growing up, or feeling grown-up too early, especially "The Realest Song," a number that worries and bumps (and nods to Black Milk) at once over a smart, bare-bones synth line. Download here.
