Poseidotica – Intramundo (Aquatalan)
By Kevin McHugh
September 24, 2005

Poseidotica. It may be a mouthful to English speakers, but at the same time it conjures up exotic visions of hallucinatory journeys under the sea, thick atmospheres and cosmic trances, all under the benevolent guidance of Poseidon himself That's not far from the truth, because as it turns out this all instrumental Argentinian group is particularly adept at painting lysergic visions.

As far as I know, Argentina is the only South American country with a notable stoner/doom underground. This small but worthy cadre includes subterranean heroes like Los Natas and Dragonauta, people of strong conviction and unquestioned ability. In fact, completists should note that Walter Broide of Los Natas plays drums on Poseidotica's album, and a fine job he does. Like much of the Argentinian underground, both past and present, there is a strong psychedelic/progressive element to Poseidotica's music; they bend it and shape it anyway they want it, and it sounds so good that you don't even miss the vocals, not that they'd be amiss should the band ever decide to hire a singer. Intramundo is a conceptual album with nine cuts, and if your Spanish is good you can follow the narrative on the inside of the insert. There are no lyrics of course. There is, however, superb musicianship, with excellent ensemble playing guiding you on a tripped out journey replete with psychedelic creativity and prog discipline, heavy-as-hell riffs and delicate guitar strumming. All they need is a light show to make the presentation complete.

There are lots of epic moments on this disc, but it is in no wise stuffy or overblown. Instead, it combines fuzzy heaviness and introspective visions, adrenalin rushes, cinematic images, and serotonin good times into a crisp whole that will remind you by turns of Floyd, Tool, King Crimson, Los Natas (natch), and Elektrohash label artists. See you on the other side, brothers and sisters.....


Visit the Poseidotica website at www.poseidotica.com.ar

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