Is Columpios al Suelo's "Un dia Afuera" the best tribute to 80's britpop ever made?
Introduced to the band Columpios al Suelo, by no other than Jairo Manzur, I quickly got to like their music.
One song, in particular, "Un dia Afuera" struck a chord somewhere. It is a really good song, catchy, with a tune you want to sing to and all the jangle pop bells and whistle thrown to the great sound prism of the band.
Listening more attentively, I thought to detect Cure-like voice + bass & drums combos, as well a very Smiths-like guitar.
You can listen to it here:
Was it done on purpose or an accident resulting from too much 80’s pop listening? If the first (certainly driven by the second) then this may be one of the best tribute to 80’s Britpop ever conceived.
Fate was kind as Juan Pablo, from non-other than Columpios al Suelo, contacted me a few days after this shaky analysis. He was kindly sharing the band’s new music video on YouTube for… “Un dia Afuera”. What a coincidence that was!
It was the occasion to ask him about the song, and this was the very kind answer he made:
“David, you're right, it's like an homage to the 80's pop song
First of all the acoustic 12 string guitar. I thought of the Smiths "William it was really nothing", sunny but melancholic at the same time.
The strumming of "In Between Days" was a factor too, but most of all the guitar was Johnny Marr in The Smiths.
The bass is like Andy Rourke too, a little bit Simon Gallup, another bit like Peter Hook
The drums are Stephen Morris, completely! The fill of Bizarre Love Triangle, it's all there
The voice was Robert Smith, a bit like a cat meowing, Hee, Hehe
Go-betweens was an influence too, and a band of the 90's, Disco Inferno. That was itMore or less”
The narrative of the song is about a day in the life in Santiago de Chile, the smog, the hostility, a thousand faces looking at me that get me dizzy. It's very urban.
It's the cold of the city drowning me, getting me anxious, the angst of the life in the city
In "un dia afuera" the last line says something like "slip of on a black cloud... I feel your hand, I feel your breath".
It involves the idea of the arrival of an inspiration or a muse, like "disorder", the joy division song: I've been waiting for a guide to come and take me by the hand.
So dear readers, listen, enjoy, analyze, support and pass the word around: One of the best homages to 80’s Britpop was done by a great band of musicians from Chile.
The music video is here:
