Search - Juana Molina :: Segundo

Consistently Beautiful

Jorge Marcelo Cino | United States | 03/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A mother who leaves her daughter.
A dog that never stops barking.
A preacher who plays with people's illusions.Little stories and brief moments constitute the lyrical core of Segundo. The musical arragements (which compliments acoustic sounds with electronic/industrial/organ chords) all serve to further illustrate the stories portrayed.At once fragile and strong, slow-paced but energetic, melancholic but hilarious, intimate but distant, Segundo has Juana Molina singing songs that will stay in your head like the most commercial 3 minute pop song ever, but by doing the exact oposite.PD. I strongly suggest you try to find her latest album, 3 Cosas, which deals with the post modern world (in the lyrics) from a Yoga point of view (in the music)."

A sleepy voice with an awakening effect

Andy H | 05/12/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an album that I can't stop listening. It brought back to my memory my childhood playgruond with the song "Que lluvia" which makes reference to a popular song in Latin America. I think Juana Molina mixed the sounds and subjects of the songs in a way so strange but effective that the whole album is like a single song with multiple faces. The lyrics remembered me those short japanese poems that reveal to you a big reflection with just a few words."

Surprisingly addictive

Andy H | Silver Spring, MD USA | 04/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you only listen for 10 seconds or so, Juana's Segundo would seem to be songs from yet another whispery waif, this time in Spanish.

Well, I listened for longer than 10 seconds.

I think the first couple minutes resulted in me making comparisons between her and Stereolab. Nice approachable songs with good rhythmic tunes and a nice backdrop of analog sound effects [which I'm a sucker for whether it's found in Stereolab, Pere Ubu, Einstuerzende Neubauten, etc.]. Then I found myself replaying certain songs digging up background sounds and seeing how her voice emulated or played with them.

At that point, I guess I'm not listening for just a couple minutes anymore. It's more like an hour, or two, or more. And I'm listening to a bunch of songs over and over again, as well as listening to the whole disc.



Well, I guess I do like the album enough to spend that much time with it. And then I found myself playing guitar along with a few of the songs. More hours of listening.



So yeah. I like and recommend the album. My Spanish isn't good at all, but it doesn't matter. The songs are intriguing, memorable and great to listen to in a variety of occasions or moods."