Record of the Week: Muro: Nueva Dogma LP

Muro: Nueva Dogma 12" (Fuerza Ingobernable Discos) Bogota, Colombia’s Muro returns with their long-awaited 3rd album, Nueva Dogma. I think everyone who encounters Muro, whether it’s live or through their recordings, agrees they are a special band. The most striking aspect of their music for me remains the passion and intensity they capture on their recordings. As thousands of lackluster albums across the history of recorded music prove, even a great band can have trouble capturing their energy on tape, but that has never been an issue for Muro, whose electricity transmits even through the very raw recordings they favor. Nueva Dogma continues that pattern, but while the presentation is primitive, the songs themselves are anything but. Sure, there are plenty of short, frantic riffs that will tickle the fancy of anyone who knows the rewards of exploring the 80s international hardcore canon, but Nueva Dogma is also a notably musically progressive record, with Muro exploring a wide range of riffs, styles, grooves, and textures across its ten songs. In particular, the lead guitarist brings a lot to Nueva Dogma, which is spiced with a thrilling mix of catchy, sometimes quite melodic licks. While the grimy presentation and chaotic performance disguise it, some of these tracks would probably even qualify as melodic hardcore, at least on the level of the musical composition. That griminess of presentation is an important part of Muro’s trip they don’t want you to miss, though. As you may have noticed, Nueva Dogma’s music is nowhere to be found online. Instead, in order to hear this remarkable record, you need to access the punk DIY network that has propagated this self-made artifact across the world. With multiple inserts, a ton of cool illustrations, and packaging handmade in the band’s home country of Colombia, Muro’s effort to bring something of their world into the homes of everyone who buys Nueva Dogma makes for an engrossing experience that elevates what would have been, under any circumstances, a truly noteworthy hardcore punk record.