Romancero
is the 2009 debut from
La Bien Querida
, the earthy, summery, indie pop vehicle for singer/songwriter
Ana Fernandez-Villaverde
, who garnered some attention in the Spanish indie circuit in 2008 when she won
Mondo Sonoro
magazine's demo contest.
Fernandez-Villaverde
has an icy-smooth voice, one that brings to mind
the Charade
's
Ingela Mattson
and
Postmarks
'
Tim Yehezkely
. On second thought,
is even frostier than those two -- she often sounds austere, disinterested, and at times even a little bored. This might just be a matter of juxtaposition; on
,
is more often than not surrounded by summery instrumentation: glimmering flamenco-tinged guitar work, earthy hand drums, and glowing flutes and trumpets. It's a striking contrast to her otherwise chilly voice, and when this approach works, it results in the kind of bittersweet, quietly effervescent indie pop in the vein of
California Snow Story
Club 8
.
"De Momento Abril"
is the one track where all of these things really fall into place -- it's subtly hooky, full of nostalgic string arrangements and piano flourishes, and to top it all off,
sounds genuinely warm and wistful. This can't be said for much of the rest of
, unfortunately, and it often sounds like
's frosty approach belongs on a different album. This is especially apparent on
"9.6,"
but granted, it's an odd duck, seeing how it's
's lone electronic dance offering. That said,
's chilly vocals sound right at home on this song -- she sounds warm and tender compared to all those swirling synths. It's the kind of thing that makes you wonder if it wouldn't have been better if she'd just taken the plunge and made an electronic album. ~ Margaret Reges