Argentina

Soda Stereo - Sueño Stereo (1995)

And back in sunny Buenos Aires, in 1982, the brainchild of the trio of Gustavo Cerati, Zeta Bosio and Charly Alberti was formed. Soda Stereo had a regular spot in a joint called Bar Zero before being noticed by CBS records and snapped up on a contract on the back of their post-punk-afflicted, guitar-heavy sound. After a reasonably long and prolific career, as the band neared the end of its life, the time came to record what would be their swansong album (or at least it'd turn out that way after a couple more years of touring) - this one!

You remember that Mexican outfit I mentioned a few posts back, Caifanes? These guys sound a lot like them. With regards to their sound, I wouldn't say that there's one, definite generic label I could pin on them. There are a few hints of jangly, post-punk reminiscent guitars, moments of more stripped-down, acoustic-led rock and, given the time of release, a more clear-cut and slightly heavier sound which you could say owes no small favour to the indie and alternate rock of the day, or at least what British and American sounds the airwaves of Argentina were broadcasting at the time. There's also the odd dash of strings and synth to be heard as well. Bugger it, let's just call it indie ;-)

Dancing around labels aside, what matters is that we have probably my favourite album to come out of Argentina although, as I think I've said before, there are a few more I can think of that are just as worthy of a mention here. Certainly for now, I won't be mentioning more than one album from the same country. Anyway, this album's great stuff. The kind of vibe you can expect from in the main it is nicely summed up by the song in the video below. It's certainly very 'western-sounding', seeing as it seems heavily influenced by British and American rock and that it lacks the added spice of Latin American vibes that their sound-a-likes Caifanes can boast. Still worth a shot though.
The best bits: Disco Eterno, Ojo De La Tormenta, Paseando Por Roma


Netherlands

Junkie XL - Today (2006)

I'm not sure how many of you were expecting me to cover European techno when I started this thread but nevertheless, in my eyes, it also counts as a type of world music, and is therefore more than worthy of a mention here.

Basically, one reason I'm so apprehensive about continuing my top 100 thread is because, seeing as I now have this thread and the one I'm doing with Zarko (which you can expect another review for soon) to contribute to, a lot of the albums that'd be part of the continuation have already been/are going to be covered. This album is no exception, as it's not only an absolute belter and a favourite of mine, it's also one of the best albums of this last decade. I've already reviewed quite a bit of electronica in mine and Zarko's thread though so, in the interest of diversity, I think I can get away with it here!

Although I'd happily call Junkie XL one of my favourite artists making music today, this is without a doubt his best effort, and as close to a masterpiece as he'd get. There are moments which have a smattering of guitar-laden big beat about them, but in the main this is an album where IDM is the big thing, as there are a few ambient and progressive house influences mixed seamlessly together, with the sonic focus taken away from the breakbeat that the guy's more known for.

As I say, definitely a contender for album of the decade this. The song in the video's a bit of a stylistic standout, as most of the tracks don't feature vocals, let alone those big beat-esque guitars, but it's a keeper anyway!
The best bits: Youthful, Mushroom, Such a Tease