CD Reviews

Juana Molina | Un Día

Domino (2008)

By CAITLIN E. CURRAN | October 15, 2008

3.0 Stars

The title first track on Juana Molina’s fifth album begins with her voice piercing the silence like an alarm: “One day I will sing the songs with no lyrics, and people can imagine for themselves whether it’s about love, disappointment, banalities, or Plato.” That day appears to be today, for English and Spanish speakers alike. Un Día takes everything the former Argentine TV star used to establish her musical style in the 12 years since she released her first album — her sometimes grainy voice, folk-leaning acoustic guitar, odd sampled sounds, and an impossible degree of looping — and shows Molina’s music in its weirdest, most mesmerizing, ideal version of itself. That includes her vocals, which may be the most important experimental instrument on the album. “Mo-mo, me-me, mo-mo,” she squeaks nonsensically on “Vive Solo,” over high-pitched horror-movie violins with a heavily traipsing synth bass line. “Los Hongos de Marosa” blends staccato “doots” and “tics” with echoed bells; “¿Quien?” ends with Molina’s voice multiplying infinitely on the same note. It’s ambient sonic voodoo, yet it retains plenty of pop’s most valued accouterment: hooks.

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