3Below: Live in Merida

Recorded live at Palacio Del la Musica de Merida, Mexico on November 5th, 2023. The band consists of Alonso Arellano (percussive electroacoustic & bass), Trey Gunn (Warr Guitar/Baritone Ukulele), Michael Manring (Fretless Bass/Caxixi Shaker), Emmanuel Pina (Oud). First up, what’s an Oud? It’s a Middle Eastern short necked lute type instrument usually with eleven strings. I get a California Guitar Trio vibe here, and it’s quite percussive in spots. The music has a lively energetic quality, and each member is credited with a few songs each except Pina, but he gets arranging credits on the closing track “Area�.

As you might expect, you get a lot of interplay, and each instrument stands out on this excellent recording. The fretless bass often catches my attention; the tonal quality comes through on tracks like “Versos�. The taping used on the Warr Guitar adds texture; it really comes through on “Hard Winds�. I think fans of 80s King Crimson would find much to enjoy here. The music is hypnotic at times, and I find myself trying to pick out each instrument and what it’s doing within the song. Gunn turns up the fuzz for “Lake of Fire� adding a more aggressive tone than on previous tracks. Manring counters with his more atmospheric “The World is Everything That is the Case�, and it has a horn- like tonality. Is it me or does anyone catch a little Stevie Wonder motif tucked into this one for a few seconds?

I found this quite enjoyable, and fans of guitar-based music as referenced above should find a lot to like here.

Track List:
1. Relamparia
2. Memadou’s Mercedes
3. Versos
4. Hard Winds
5. Forest Floor
6. Big Fungus
7. Lake of Ice
8. Lake of Fire
9. The World is Everything That is the Case
10. Monkey Businessman
11. Culpa
12. Area

Added: February 2nd 2025
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 193
Language: english

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