Belmez

Many skilled players of aggressive rock music seem to share a love for the flipside of their velocity- and volume-fuelled day jobs. Spain's Belmez, who share several members with excellent post-rock outfit 12twelve, play with the kind of threatening energy containment of Codeine or Karate, but with their Latin hearts more sleeve-ready. Jaime L. Pantaleon and José Rossello carry over their skills from 12Twelve's supple, idiosyncratic acoustic approach to complex rock structures, especially the latter's tasteful turn-on-a-dime drum work. "Santa Eulalia" works the quiet/loud punch with style, capitalizing on the Spanish language vocals that lure you into the eventual blow. And far from by-the-numbers, tracks like "Rodeo" and "Gracias" crash in from the first bar and keep crashing until the last one fades. Ably captured by Bob Weston, the recording highlights the group's live-in-studio, no-effects approach to dynamics, lending them a timeless authenticity.