davila 666 - s/t (2008)

first off, its pretty bad-ass that this band is from Puerto Rico. I don't think I've heard any other band from Puerto Rico. second, this is a totally killer record. it hits so many right buttons that its kinda shocking to me- this band is basically everything that underground rock is trying to be right now. its poppy lo-fi garage rock, sounding kinda like Black Lips singing songs in spanish, or like maybe Brian Jonestown Massacre, but authentic sounding and dark. but then, its also got hints of shoegaze, the Jesus & Mary Chain kind, reverbed drums & tambourines, that bands like Vivian Girls or Crystal Stilts kinda have going. plus they're from Puerto Rico, which is hella cutty. and they're on In The Red records, which is a pretty goddamn great record label right now. so your enjoyment of this record may depend on how you feel about the current trends. fortunately, i'm all for this garage revival scene (which I would guess is probably not gonna last much longer), so I think this record is great. the record itself is half split between upbeat rockers, and extra-reverbed ballads- frankly I like the band at both speeds. I dunno if this record got all that much attention when it came out, but I do know that a lot of people at KUSF loved it.

Davila 666 - Basura
Davila 666 - Tu