Los Retros – ‘Retrospect’ (Stones Throw)

By Phil Cooper

Los Retros is the creative outlet for 19-year-old singer-songwriter, Mauri Tapia. Since the age of 15 he has been creating and self-publicising his work via the likes of SoundCloud and making use of his high school facilities for production. His latest single ‘Someone to Spend Time With’ has earned a great deal of attention online with the accompanying video available on YouTube. The time has come now for the teenager to step up with the debut EP release of six songs via Stones Throw. Has Los Retros been able to create a springboard for future endeavours?

Opening with ‘Never Have Enough’, the listener is immediately greeted by chiming guitars, laid back percussion and electronics creating a hazy wash over the sound. The vocal melody of Tapia has a jaunty, catchy nature that matches the relaxed groove of the instrumentation. The percussion counterpoints the melody with a staccato style that compliments further the guitar and vocal work. It’s the longest track on the EP and sets up a relaxed vibe for the rest of the record. Moving into ‘Friends’, a slightly more up tempo, yet still chilled vibe pulls the listener in. The bass lines are more prominent in this track and lock together with the drums to propel the up-tempo groove. Once more the vocals and guitars work together, creating a catchy hook and building into a thick texture. It’s a short track, but lifts the mood from the heavily laid-back opener.

‘Love Tape’, continues on with a chilled-out vibe. The heavier use of effects on the guitar chords and electronics taking the lead with the guitar fleshing out the backing texture as the track progresses, reasserts the dream like wash that was heard on ‘Never Have Enough’. It is however, a track that lacks a punch or hook to make it standout in the middle of the EP and is somewhat forgettable after the three minutes forty-six pass. The intro to ‘Oh Grace’ has an unassuming, sedate pace for the opening with the bass lines taking a lead role in driving the track. The texture is still thick despite the low instrumentation and has a warm wall of sound effect backing up the vocals. However, it is the vocals that let the track down slightly. With such a heavy reverb wash, there is the tendency for the lyrical delivery to be lost and when matched with the sedate tempo gives the track a plodding almost bored vibe. It does not captivate the listener in the same way that the first two tracks did.

Despite its title, ‘Last Day on Earth’ does pick up the vibe slightly from the preceding track. Thick vocal harmonies combine with a jaunty hook line melody and carry the track on in an engaging fashion. Once more, the use of electronics combines well with the guitar work to not only build on a thick texture but create an alternative musical take on a traditional singer song-writer approach. There is something different that pulls the listener in. Closing the EP is ‘Nostalgic Vibrations’. It’s a track that neatly culminates all of the chilled laid-back stylings that have come before. All of the instrumentation has been well mixed allowing for enough space to hear each one as well as pulling together a warm textured layer. The vocals sit on top of the mix and with only a slight reverb effect layer a sense of relaxed space over the whole mix. With a much more engaging sound than either ‘Oh Grace’ or Love Tape’, ‘Nostalgic Vibrations’ showcases more of what is on offer from Los Retros

There are definite points to enjoy throughout this six-track offering. The layering techniques and development of the melodies and harmonies highlight a talent for song-writing. The combination of instrumentation and structural ideas do further indicate that at only nineteen, Tapia has the ability to develop a well crafted and engaging track that offers something different from the norm. However, there are a number of short comings with ‘Retrospect’ that may well turn many away. Immediately apparent is that while aspects of the music are engaging and enjoyable, the laid-back vibe goes almost totally horizontal at times and makes the music go from chilled out to boring. Tracks like ‘Oh Grace’ and ‘Love Tape’ offer very little to pull a listener in and retain attention at the midpoint of the EP which undoes the hard work of the opening tracks and means that the closing tracks have a lot of work to reengage.

In a world saturated by singer-songwriters it is difficult to break in with something fresh and new to stand out. While Los Retros should be applauded for coming in with something different and at a young age too, there is much more to be done to stand out from the pack. Perhaps focus on keeping different instrumentation but build on more of the catchy chilled vibe that worked well in ‘Never Have Enough’, ‘Friends’ and ‘Nostalgic Vibrations.’

‘Retrospect’ is released on Friday (21 June). You can get your copy HERE.