Madrid duo, Agrio, have spent the last four years shaping soundscapes for some of the most influential voices in the alt-rock broad church to add their own magic.
With two EPs released during the lockdown period via Broken Clover Records, the duo first crossed paths with Enablers’ lynchpin and poetic maestro, Pete Simonelli, with the end result being The Thin Man EP. Seemingly just warming up, Agrio quickly followed it up with the La Murga EP, featuring the late Mark Lanegan.
Agrio returned in January this year, this time bringing Scott McLoud (Girls Against Boys, Soulside, Paramount Styles) along for the ride in what would become the Repeat to Infinity EP. Shortly after its digital release, God Unknown Records came to the party, which sees all three celebrate a timely release as El Amigo Americano.
Intentional all not, the moment provides a beautiful homage to the Lanegan (“I want to thank you Jesus, for this weapon in my hand / Suddenly I’m up in the air / And I don’t care” – the excellent Drink of Poised Water), while also underlining the importance of Simonelli and McLoud’s presence, not just from their past artistic endeavours, but present ones, too. For the latter, these songs come on the back of his excellent Soulside release, A Brief Moment in the Sun (2022), while former has also been active on the new music front, spearheading the Enablers with their wonderful latest dispatch, Some Gift (also 2022).
Agrio - El Amigo AmericanoUndoubtedly an all-star cast, however Agrio are the ones who hold it all together, shaping their rhythms around the strength of their guests. On Nike Italy France, McLoud’s voice cuts through the siren call of synths and metallic flashes of noise. Then there’s DJ’s In Heaven, which could be mistaken for a lost GVB track, as Agrio produce the kind of sinewy swoon rock that sinks deep into the grooves. It’s rounded out by the dead-eyed alt-rock of People Used to Dream, McLoud’s seductive vocal navigating through a series of swerving rhythms.
Meanwhile, the instrumental segue of Cisnes leads into Scale of Embrace where Simonelli’s surreal poetic snippets take hold with narcotic effect – a story dominated by leather jackets, coastal jaunts and tracking down vixens on a Saturday night in Marseille. Stories formed from vague images from another life, and it doesn’t stop on Waking. This time Simonelli cuts through to the past, calling to mind an array of sepia images that combine the locality of American landscapes with the barren terrains of Agrio’s native Spain. It’s a blustery, abstract fever dream that only Simonelli could deliver.
Despite El Amigo Americano being a combination of three separate recording sessions, Agrio’s nimble musicianship makes these songs feel like one cohesive unit. The duo’s ability to work to the strengths of their fellow collaborators is this release’s greatest boon, and alongside the most underrated voices of a generation, this really is a ride you don’t want to miss.
El Amigo Americano is out now via God Unknown Records. Purchase from Bandcamp.
