Guapo: Daniel O'Sullivan (guitar, keyboards, electronics); Matt Thompson (guitar, bass, electronics); Dave Smith (drums, percussion).
Personnel: Matt Thompson (guitar, electronics).
Recording information: Zed One Studios, London, England (08/2002-04/2003).
The music of British trio Guapo emerges from that corner of the prog-rock kingdom known to a small-but-hardy clique as Zeuhl, an intense, severe, heavy-but-jazzy sound inaugurated in the '70s by French cult heroes Magma. Actually, Guapo merely uses the aforementioned style as a jumping-off point, working the power-trio angle to fine effect on this all-instrumental recording. As Daniel O'Sullivan lays down thick torrents of sound on guitar and a variety of old-school keyboards (Mellotron, harmonium, Fender Rhodes), the rhythm section blasts away fearlessly in what sounds more like brash challenge than support. FIVE SUNS incorporates the influence of post-rock, symphonic prog, and the avant-garde, culminating in a sound less harsh and over-the-top (and more varied) than that of most pure Zeuhl acolytes, but still fully deserving of the adjective "unrelenting."
Professional Reviews
Magnet (p.97) - "FIVE SUNS does include the mandatory five-part, 46-minute title track, which flirts with all types of heavy, and like the rest of the album, the mood rides a nice balance between 'too busy' and tasteful, bombastic minimalism."
