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BARRERA follows up the NUEVO SONIDO BALEAR path started by ORDEN MUNDIAL, POU and PENA MÁXIMA with a debut release filled to the rim with lust, sex, power and distortion. Their songs are slow and acid, with a tortured tone that would make GLOOM or BRAINBOMBS cry. The seven songs on “Visiones Nocturnas” are themed around the death of romantic love and are not afraid to look at the darkest side of life with a nihilistic conviction.
Musically the record follows the path laid by STICKMEN WITH RAYGUNS or FLIPPER but are firmly rooted in Spanish Punk with DESECHABLES as a clear point of reference, both aesthetically and sonically. Although BARRERA occupy their own space with a sound that is clearly their own nightmare.
Recorded and mixed by Chano Morales at Impala Uno Studio, Mallorca.
Mastered by Shigenori Kobayashi at Noise Room, Tokyo.
Designed by Barrera.
Our take: Visiones Nocturnas is the debut release from Barrera, a punk band from the Mallorca region of Spain. My introduction to this record was someone describing it to me as sounding similar to the noisy stylings of Sial from Singapore. I hear some similarity in the blown-out distortion of the guitars, but Barrera primarily plays at slower, more menacing tempos. The opening song “Confusa La Historia” begins with a swell that leads into a thick, permeable wall of noise. The pounding drum groove is heavy on the toms and pulses with a mechanical, marching-like rhythm. And while the drums hold everything in order, the song feels like a tense beckoning for disorderly conduct. On the surface, Barrera is mostly easily described as a hardcore band. But much like La Vida says in their description, with their restrained, brooding sense of doom, the band evokes a feeling that is alluring, sexual, and dangerous. The singer fumes with this disdainful and hypnotic persuasion that forces the listener to be engaged, but also terrified. The songs collected on this 12” are like a ceremonial gathering around a funeral pyre. I imagine someone being burned at the stake. The sound creates such a powerful illusion of dread. Barrera’s music is nightmarish, yes, but this is a nightmare that I want to revisit.