ALBUM REVIEW: El Corazon – Los Santos

One of the latest bands to emerge from the South London DIY punk scene, LOS SANTOS have put out their debut record El Corazon. The album itself consists of six tracks which demonstrate the band’s take on melodic punk rock, and acts as a showcase of their long list of influences ranging from the RAMONES to BLONDIE to THE STOOGES. A promising introduction, and one that translates well onto the album we have before us.

Opening with On The Strip (Vegas Baby), listeners are not so surprisingly greeted by the sounds of a casino before the full band kicks off to create a fast punk track. When it comes to the vocals, you may notice that they aren’t the focus given the lower volume, but it doesn’t create an issue as their cool attitude is still able to shine through. In a short summary, one can imagine this song playing in the background of a scene set in Las Vegas as you watch a group of people go on to have a wild night.

That’s a bit of a recurring theme when it comes to this album, with a few songs that feel reminiscent of different films and their soundtracks, making it easy to imagine LOS SANTOS being a part of the track list. For example, Bourbon Street is a fast, cool and confident punk track that has you imagining a chaotic performance scene in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, while Sorry Somehow is a fast and fun rock track will have you instantly reminded of School Of Rock.

As for the rest of the album, only one other song stands out, which is Fanclub (Ronnie Spector) that introduces a slight twist on the genre by incorporating smooth jazz elements. The other two tracks, while mostly decent, do have some issues with the sound quality. Stoneface, while having a cool sounding drone and guitar in its intro, is a bit blurry when it comes to the sound quality, yet one could argue that it’s part of its charm. But it’s not so easily forgiven when it comes to Sorry, which again has intriguing elements especially with the opening bassline, but with the low-quality sound on the vocals it feels a little empty despite the attitude the band try to give it.

Overall, El Corazon is a decent punk record that could stand to benefit from a few tweaks to the sound quality, but that can be forgiven thanks to the cool attitude and the pure energy that shines throughout.

Rating: 7/10

El Corazon is out now via Cadiz Music.

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