Indie Music Album Reviews

pablo naranjo - here in the distance

11/27/2013

Pablo Naranjo

Here In The Distance
self-released; 2013

3.7 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Pablo Naranjo may have just released his first solo album entitled Here In The Distance but he certainly isn't new to the scene. He has had his fair share of experience as a musician throughout the years. You may recognize his grunge band Septimo Aposento, which still has some of their songs played on the radio.

He wanted to grow himself as a musician so Naranjo didn't stop with grunge as he became proficient with Bossa Nova and jazz styles. While learning these styles made him more of a diverse musician, he reverts to his early rock roots on Here In The Distance.

Here In The Distance is a guitar album. It is the focal point of the songs and is just as strong as his voice throughout (similar to a Dinosaur Jr album where most listeners are enjoying J Mascis’ guitar playing as much as if not more than his voice). That being said Naranjo includes other instrumentation like violin and cello to bring a bit of variation and depth to the songs.

Naranjo starts off with a rocker called “Burning Snow,” which conjured up imagery of mid 90’s alternative bands. The guitar work is top notch, carries the song and you won't want to miss the solo. “Time Machine” is on the verge of rocking out hard but never arrives while “Reflection” delivers some of the best guitar progressions on the album on top of orchestral strings. One of my favorite songs on the album was the acoustic number entitled “A Distant Light,” which contains some beautiful guitar melodies, great drum work as well as warm strings.

At 12 tracks long Here In The Distance is a girthy album that has only a couple of faults. Some of the songs sound similar on first pass and Naranjo’s voice isn't immediately distinct or even that attractive. The album is one of those “growers” that will most likely not blow you away upon first listen but gets better over repeated listens. If you are a fan of creative, technically proficient guitar playing wrapped in a decent 90’s inspired rock song than this is up your alley.