Discover 2 west coast releases with free Bandcamp download codes from independent artists and labels.
Decadence & Renaissance is the second album by Sotomonte, released in October 2024 and the first recorded with a full, stable band around bassist, singer and songwriter Jokin Salaverria. The foundations remain the same as on the debut, folk and progressive rock with touches of psychedelia and hard rock, but the sound is now more progressive and, at times, heavier. Organ and keyboards take a leading role across its nine tracks, drawing clear lines to early Genesis, while the guitars bring sharp solos and a powerful, driving energy. The record moves from the opening "The Nothing", a classic late-60s/early-70s rock statement against a homogenised, controlled society, through the full-force "Gambit", the pastoral "Montecristo/The Riddle" and the reflective "What a Game to Play", with "The Beauty of Tomorrow" and "Little Vilma" as its two ballads. It closes with "The Everything", a hummed bookend to the opening track: the lyrics criticise many aspects of modern life, but the message is ultimately a positive one. Produced by Iñigo Bregel (Los Estanques). Named Best Spanish Album of 2024 by La Habitación 235.
From Prayer to the Battlefield is the 2021 debut by Sotomonte, the project led by Bilbao bassist and singer Jokin Salaverria, a veteran of the Biscay live circuit who also spent several years playing in California. The title sums up the album: it moves between the reflective and the combative. The sound sits where late-60s West Coast rock meets British folk and psychedelia, with nods to the Canterbury scene and a mid-tempo hard rock edge. Three-part vocal harmonies in the Crosby, Stills & Nash tradition run through the whole record. The album goes from acoustic openings that build into full-blown rock workouts, to Jethro Tull-flavoured riffing, soul-tinged ballads and organ-led psychedelia, and closes with a long, rising crescendo. Produced by Iñigo Bregel (Los Estanques), who also plays many of the instruments, with Brian Young (The Jesus and Mary Chain, Fountains of Wayne) on drums and a handful of guest guitarists.
