Album Review: Las Nubes – SMVT

Once in a while you receive an album to review that you give a spin, get a firm idea about and then when you listen a few times more, you realise your initial reaction was flawed and superficial. This is that record. That first impression was ‘well, here’s a determinedly lo-fi and quite awkward piece of work.’ And it isn’t. Well, lo-fi it certainly is but the angularity is actually part of a subtle approach to song writing that incorporates musicality in an almost subversive way. Add to this an insouciant, almost slacker vocal that’s almost at odds with the sometimes heavy instrumentation and you end up with a paradox that’s difficult to describe. Comparisons and influences can be misleading, but in its echoey, grinding, dreamy vibe, SMVT has more than a touch of Surfer Rosa-era Pixies about it – a connection amplified by the lyrical switch from English to Spanish.

So who are South Florida’s Las Nubes? They are guitarist and vocalist Ale Campos, bassist Nina Carolina and drummer Emile Milgrim. Together they create a kind of timeless scuzzy alt-rock, alt-Latino noise that veers from hippy trippy hazed-out pop (Allusions, Tired of Trying and I Go Wild) to driving and melodic punk-pop (Still Growing and Deposit Slip). As a piece, this album is a terrific showcase for a band with plenty of ideas and the musical chops to please themselves. These songs are growers and they deserve repeated listens because, trust me, they’ll creep up on you. Don’t be fooled by what might appear like a laid-back approach. There is plenty of subtle power and a knack for an infectious hook that won’t even notice lodging itself in your brain until you’re humming it later. Standout tracks for me? The sublime QSW with its gorgeous instrumental intro and growling bass, and what has to be a future classic Deposit Slip, which I have had on repeat. And rightly so.

SMVT is now available via Sweat Records here