Shazam’s Music Of The Decade: Los Planetas
LOS PLANETAS - La Leyenda Del Espacio (2007)
Nearly unanimous, the Spanish press has chosen alternative favourites Los Planetas as the national album of the decade; and rightly so! There are very few bands that after fifteen years are able to up their game and reach a new career peak as they did with their seventh studio album.
‘La Leyenda Del Espacio’ (The Legend Of Space) was named as a reply to the late Flamenco singer Camaron’s masterpiece ‘La Leyenda Del Tiempo’ (The Legend Of Time), which will reach it’s the 30th anniversary of release in 2010. The record saw the band from Granada adapting the rock structure of most of its songs to different “Palos” - name of the different Flamenco subgenres - with amazing results; merging their former Anglo-Saxon heritage (a sound that often recalls Bob Mould circa Sugar, Spiritualized and many others) with the history of Flamenco-rock, traditionally rooted among Andalusia’s finest contemporary musicians.
Los Planetas have created a work of great relevance; one that expanded the boundaries of both leftfield rock and traditional Flamenco, plagued with classic moments such as ‘Reunion En La Cumbre’, ‘El Canto Del Bute’, ‘Alegrias Del Incendio’ or the collaboration with Enrique Morente on its closing track. It may only be of limited interest for anyone outside Spanish speaking countries, but it more than deserves full investigation from all.
