This Argentine group have spent much of the past four decades in Paris ploughing a furrow of bittersweet nostalgia.
Elogio sets the poems of Homero Manzi (a noted left- wing figure of the 1930s and 1940s) to lurching tangos and waltzes. Juan Cedr?n sighs as much as he sings in a mannered, slightly haughty baritone that is not instantly appealing but makes sense after a while; the two ravishing instrumentals Responso and La Bicicleta Celeste offer initial respite. For eight of the 15 pieces, the regular quartet expands to a larger group, and on five of the songs Cedr?n is joined by three other guitarists to thrilling textural effect. It’s old school, unashamedly romantic and rather loveable.
(Chant du Monde)