El Secreto De La Casa Azul

When the mood strikes me I have no qualms with declaring La Casa Azul the greatest band on this, or any other, planet. Right now I am so confident with this claim that not even the fact they aren't actually a band isn't enough to persuade me otherwise. You see, in a move that might be render all you grunge-daddies and burnt Milli Vanilli fans out there aghast, the members of La Casa Azul, as they are presented to the world, are nothing more than just a bunch of goofball Spanish actors. Although their clips show them playing the songs and album sleeves credit them with the instrumentation, the music of La Casa Azul is actually entirely the work of a certain mysterious Guille Milkyway.

With the possible exception of Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes, Milkyway is undoubtedly the greatest exponent of the pop hook in the world. Songs like Quiero Parar, El Secreto De Jeff Lynne, Chicle Cosmos and Cerca De Shibuya are so catchy that regardless of the fact that I don't speak Spanish, I still find it impossible not to sing along to them. La Casa Azul songs are the seamless synthesis of 60s American AM pop, 90's electro-pop and twee indie-pop, yet this abstract description in no way indicates just how damn good they are. Milkyway's interesting arrangements and diverse instrumentation provide further evidence of his musical genius.

Personally I have no beef with Milkyway's ruse. My disdain for male singer/songwriters is well documented. I find having a cohesive band to look at with personality and presence a lot more entertaining to watch than than some arsehole with an acoustic guitar and harmonica. Whether or not they actually write and play the songs makes no difference to me.