El Progreso marks the 16th album for Sr. Chinarro
Sr. Chinarro is a solo band created by Antonio Luque in 1990 in Spain. At the time, indie music in Spain wasn’t a thing; but Antonio decided to make his music and did it well. He opened doors for a lot of the independent artists you hear today. With sixteen albums under his belt, Antonio Luque is considered one of the most prolific songwriters by media and critics.
The album El Progreso contains ten tracks that pretty much sound the same. Produced by J from the band, Los Planetas, critics have hailed this one of the best albums of the year.
I always prided the website as the “good, bad, and ugly” of Latin pop, and it mostly has been good. I have gotten to know some of the best music, but sometimes that music doesn’t move me. Sr. Chinarro fits the genre of the website with its rock-pop vibes, so I feel I must review it all. It’s not often that I find music or artists that I don’t care for and today, I did. I am not saying that this album or this artist is not a quality musician in any way, it’s just not for me.
For an indie artist that has been around since 1990 and has recorded sixteen albums, where are the fans? Sr. Chinarro joined Twitter three years ago and has a mere 2,300 follows. On the contrary, the songs on Spotify have over 50K listens since its April release.
Sr. Chinarro’s El Progreso has a good beat and is musically solid
I am not a fan of Sr. Chinarro’s lead vocalist – the only member of the band, Antonio. Not sure why Antonio decided to create a “band” when he is the only member. I would think one would just say the stage name was Sr. Chinarro versus calling yourself a band. I guess to his defense, the original concept of the band was to have other influential musicians perform with him. I don’t want everything in this review to be negative, though. The music is pretty decent. It has a good beat and musically, it is a solid album. Antonio’s voice is so bland and melancholy; the album feels sad. BUT, critics like it; just not this one.
The first track off the album seems to be the best, so have a listen and you decide. Music is subjective, and not everyone is going to be a fan of everything. I support all Latin pop artists, including Sr. Chinarro.
Follow Sr. Chinarro on Twitter at @srchinarro or Antonio Luque at @antonioluque666
Since that day, I have been study Latin pop and rock music and have become a Latin pop music historian through the publishing of articles, fanzine, and websites. My goal is to teach people about Latin pop music and the history behind it with my website, Siempre En Domingo.
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