El Club Audiovisual by El Club Audiovisual

I’m all about local and community-based art and being involved in the immediate world around you, but I often wonder what art I could be exposed to if my context was different. What music have I missed out on simply because of my geographical location? What would the shows in my local community look like If I was from somewhere entirely different? After hearing their new self titled album, Argentinian noise pop group El Club Audiovisual inspired me to consider what other fantastic music I’m missing out on.

With a focused creative aesthetic that serves the music and vice versa, El Club Audiovisual exudes true Y2K style, not the 2020s Shein-eque fabrication of Y2K that might first come to mind. This project is an endlessly charming blend of noise pop and alt indie rock featuring feverish, eclectic builds of energy neatly contained in each song. At first you may wonder whether this will be more unimpressive indie rock but the band blows those fears out of the water in short order, featuring vintage-sounding synths with the energy of sassy 80s pop, but with enough grit to make it listenable on its own. The track “Una Canción” shows the group’s affinity for power pop with a feature from ODD MAMI that evokes a rock version of Pink Panthress with delicate vocoded song over a light dance beat. “Disimular” builds frantically and almost feels unstable as it breaks apart from what can only be described as an overwhelming influx of energy. In the aftermath the album’s energy doesn’t wane, it just changes; what was feverish and building becomes even-keel and peaceful. The first half or so of El Club Audiovisual is personally more attention-grabbing than the latter half, leaning into the heavier side of noise pop to add interest, however the album ends on a high note with “Si Estás Escuchando.” I found El Club Audiovisual inspiring to our mission as a project to bring more undiscovered works to the forefront for ourselves and for our communities.