Buen Chico
Right to Re-arrange (Faith & Hope)
On debut album ‘Right to Re-arrange,’ the unabashed northern tones of three piece Buen Chico (Good Bloke) have an optimistic air about them for the most part, despite their knack for identifying some of the less positive aspects of the cultural milieu.
Indeed, amongst a raft of entirely vacuous popular musicians currently plying their trade, Buen Chico commendably have a few things to say about the present state of affairs in the UK. This includes commenting on inertia and apathy as they do on ‘Giving Your Gifts,’ a previous single (‘when you’re faced with nothing, don’t you want to colour it in’), and referencing recent newsworthy events in Yorkshire on ‘Drip, Drip, Tick, Tock’ (‘water’s coming through my house, I’m never gonna bail it out / surfing’s not so fun when it’s the only way to get around’).
Similarly, ‘Great Pleasures’ is a particularly perceptive dig at modern materialism and the synthetic comforts we all seem sure we need to fill our lives with. This is not to paint them principally as complaining cynics, however, which would be to do them a great disservice. They are a cheery lot and there is a humour and wit in much of their music.
Sonically perhaps they are not exceptional, with reference points such as the Coral implied by songs like the poppy ‘Killing Somebody’ or perhaps more interestingly, Belle and Sebastian in the soft vocals and boy/girl dynamic of ‘Don’t Lose Your Faith In Goodwill’. Yet if their sound is somewhat generic, but effective indie-pop, it has already provided the band with an admirable level of early success including plenty of radio airplay on hip stations like BBC6.
Coupled with high profile support slots with trendy acts including the Kaiser Chiefs and the Cribs, they have already amassed a significantly strong following, and it’s unthinkable that their profile will fail to rise with the release of this very good debut album. Perhaps that’s where all the optimism comes from.
Brian Raghoobur
