By Jason Grishkoff | December 8th, 2011
Holy moly, Rodrigo y Gabriela have added instruments to their lineup! “Juan Loco” is the first new single to come off their upcoming album Area 52, due to be released January 24, 2012. The best part? It’s free to download!
Overall though, I can’t help but be a little disappointed. This song isn’t new — it was the 8th track on their 2006 self-titled release. With this rendition, they’ve simply added a hundred more instruments, potentially stealing from what made the brother-sister duo awesome in the first place.
And therein lies the entire purpose of this album. According to the press release, Area 52 is made up of nine songs from the band’s historical catalogue, “re-arranged and re-configured for a 13-piece Cuban orchestra comprised of some of Havana’s finest young players, collectively known as C.U.B.A. It’s Rodrigo y Gabriela’s first recorded collaboration with another group of musicians.”
Hrmph. Gimme some new acoustic stuff, guys!