Cime - The Independence of Central America Remains an Unfinished Experiment

Cime

The Independence of Central America Remains an Unfinished Experiment
​self-released; 2022

3.9 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

​Cime is the solo project of Monty Cime. The artist released The Independence of Central America Remains an Unfinished Experiment. This is an album with a lot going on thematically as the title indicates. The artist mentions “The writing is heavily smothered in metaphor, with the album, its lyrics and its themes all connecting back to three cruxes--the past (intrapersonal or historical reflection on either my own life, looking back at my childhood and the tribulations I've faced in the past year, or of the history of Central America through a roughly chronological order, the present (intrapersonal or historiographic introspection on either who I am in regards to the ego--my gender identity, my religious identity, my ethnic identity--or the socioeconomic conditions of my life, whether that concerns being the child of an immigrant, how I never had any sort of generational wealth to keep me stable. the future (a call to action, both interpersonally and sociologically--whether that be to implore the individual listener to follow my introspective cries for conviction and earnestness in their identity (again, either regarding gender, religious, or ethnic identities) or to the Central American people as a declaration of hope for our future and by looking at our past to know what we ought to do for our future.”

There’s a lot of intentional themes and concepts that comes from the artist. After I read what the album was about I just decided to listen and see what unraveled. “Compay (Independencia)” is the first song and is straightforward enough. I liked the energy and the use of two languages. There is a latin vibe and I love the groove although the delivery feels loose. It's one of the catchier songs and a good way to start the album.

“Friends/Enemies (Earnest/Irony) [Disolución]” is a little more experimental and jazz oriented. It begins with a whirling organ and feels like you might be at a European circus or maybe a coffee shop is Soho. Spoken words like poetry come in about halfway through and the music gets more intense. There is a hook as well. It’s an imaginative song and I was impressed by the structure.

“Canción Para Guillermo (Song for Guillermo)” has some great grooves and also unique structure. Similar to the previous song there’s spoken as well as singing. I loved the singing section on this song. Cime sings “Guillermo / I wish I knew you / Guillermo / I can see right through you / Guillermo / Such a love for music / In a country that won’t conduce it.”

“¡Convicción! (Campaña Nacional)” is interesting and sounds like The Doors from an alternative universe where they discovered garage rock and distortion. “Mother (Interlude)” sounds like a field recording at a busy gathering with friends and family who aren’t paying attention to the performer. If I was the performer I would be annoyed.

“By the Bunches (Banana Dictatorships)” is a good one. It’s a little dissonant and the chord changes were unexpected. It feels a little frivolous and almost deflated. “God, the FSLN, and the Despots (The Age-Old Story)” gets absurd in a Frank Zappa sort of way and continues with a more frivolous and playful approach. There’s a lot going on and the song moves fast.

“200 Years… (And What Came of Them)” is next. There’s a good amount of spoken word on this song but some great grooves as well. It’s very original. The way he builds with vocals when he sings “just sit inside.” This song gets very experimental in a late Scott Walker kind of way. After the intense ride he closes with some simple acoustic guitar on “The Independence of Central America Remains an Unfinished Experiment.”

​Although I found moments on this album a little too lo-fi I thought the production was solid overall. More importantly however was I found the approach very original and Cime was working on his own wavelength. There were a lot of twists and turns where he seemed to be taking chances and it worked out in his favor. Take a listen.

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