At The Drive-In
El Gran Orgo

THE REVIEW

At the Drive-In certainly don't need lengthy introductions: they are the true champions of modern Post-Hardcore, one of the most important and successful bands of the last twenty years in Alternative music. Perhaps for this reason, in addition to the fact that they align perfectly with my current musical interests, it seemed justified and interesting to delve into the lesser-known EPs of the band, whose most famous works are undoubtedly the three albums released between 1996 and 2000, the compilation “This Station is Non-Operational,” and the EP “Vaya.” Thus emerges “El Gran Orgo,” an EP released in 1997, published on September 18 of the same year and sold out within three days, just to emphasize how much they were appreciated during the years of their albeit (unfortunately) brief activity.

As mentioned, the year of release is '97, which means one thing: “Acrobatic Tenement” had already been released and had already brought several spotlights of the global music press on the band hailing from dusty El Paso (Texas). Automatically, one might think that this “El Gran Orgo” could be a sort of makeshift collection of leftovers from that first ATDI album, given that none of the songs included ended up in subsequent albums. But this thought is soon dispelled upon listening to the six tracks present on the EP. It is indeed a work in which ATDI channeled songs that addressed certain as-yet-unexpressed facets in “Acrobatic Tenement,” and so we're not faced with a bunch of discarded tracks, but rather with a handful of songs a bit more melodic compared to the 1996 record, songs responding to a less visible sector of these American rockers' soul and songwriting style, which evidently didn’t find the right way or space for full expression in “Acrobatic Tenement.”

This more melodic sound greets the listener right at the beginning of the EP, as the first track (“Give It A Name”) is the most overtly “Pop” piece of the album; it made me think of those bands that play little concerts at college parties in America. This doesn't mean it’s entirely dismissible, but one cannot deny that ATDI has never been just that. With the second track, “Honest To A Fault,” they raise the stakes a bit, but still remain on somewhat softer lines compared to other moments both in this album and in other recordings, past and future. “Fahrenheit” doesn't stray from this style, while “Picket Fence Cartel” is a bit angrier and more engaging, followed by a “Speechless” equally charged and successful, where Cedric Bixler-Zavala, after one of his screams, sings to us “No recollection of affection / we’re only safe from harm when nothing matters.”

Special mention goes to track 3, “Winter Month Novelty,” the best of the EP (in my indisputable judgment); the lyrics pay homage to David Stripling, a figure whose only interest to us is the fact that he comes from El Paso like At the Drive-In. The music of this track wonderfully joins Cedric's lyrics, who, as always, dominates the notes with his singular way of singing. There is no anger in this delicate track, where guitars pamper the listener and entice them to replay the track over and over.

In conclusion, a nice Post-Hardcore EP “tainted” with Emo and Alternative/Indie-Rock, enjoyable, I believe, even for those who are not avid fans of ATDI. The album's title, it should be noted, is a clear tribute to the great Alejandro Jodorowsky, a Chilean surrealist director who if-you-don’t-know-go-and-watch-him-now. Orgo is indeed one of the protagonists in the film "Santa Sangre," and the reference to this work is a clear sign of how much Bixler-Zavala and company are fans of Jodorowsky's cinema.

A couple of post scripts for the most devoted and/or meticulous: 1) in El Gran Orgo, good old Jim Ward neither plays nor sings. Could this also be why it all sounds more melodic and less harsh? 2) For ATDI, this EP left a bit of a sting due to tensions with the label that distributed the record, namely Onefoot Records. Essentially, the band members stated at the time that the label tried to cheat them and have always recommended downloading and copying the album rather than giving money to those dishonest folks at Onefoot Records (their words). So this time, to support the band and their ideas, download, download, and download!