2015 Favorite: San Fermin

Yes, it's February. No, I'm not done talking about the bands I loved last year. Today's round: San Fermin, the New York collective created by Ellis Ludwig-Leone. 

Although the music does come from Ludwig-Leone's genius brain, the ensemble features two lead vocalists, Charlene Kaye and Allen Tate. They trade off songs; Allen's standouts are 'No Devil' and 'Emily', while Charlene slays on 'Jackrabbit' (their latest album's titular track) and 'Philosopher'. (If you're looking for a duet, try the slinky, funky 'Parasites'—which feels like a creepy, dystopian hoedown.)

But, perhaps because the composer is not the singer, San Fermin isn't one of those bands where everyone else takes a back seat to the vocalists. The whole album feels very balanced, like its two singers are instrumentalists who just happen to use words. Strings, horns, and percussion all take center stage in turns, or sometimes simultaneously. I think the band's own website sums it up perfectly: 

"If San Fermin [the band's self-titled debut album] could seem prepared and guarded to the point of being polite, Jackrabbit lines that record’s complicated compositional maneuvers and grandiose pop eruptions with necessary aggression. It is urgent and in your face, like a band sweating and singing in a cramped venue."

'Complicated compositional maneuvers' is an equally apt way to describe some of the stylings on Jackrabbit. San Fermin's vibe is one part jazz and one part rock opera, with the rest something else entirely. I'd be lying if I said this always worked; there are certainly moments that feel overwrought. But it's successful more often than not, and when you hear the band live, everything suddenly, magically clicks. 

If you have the opportunity to catch San Fermin live, take it, immediately. They put on quite the show. 

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