A female fronted hardcore punk outfit from Guadalajara, Mexico, Flores Y Fuego (Flowers And Fire) take their distaste for modern life and turn it into powerful and insightful songwriting from the perspective of front woman Melisa Rat Lalo Fer.
“Soy Tu Voz” (I Am The Voice) opens the listen with Melisa’s biting vocals, throbbing bass and thundering drums in the sturdy and driving post-punk climate that welcomes a tuneful guitar solo, too. “Muerde El Anzuelo” (Take The Bait) follows, and carries a bouncy, harmonic flavor that pairs well with the shouted singing that somehow still carries a toe tappin’, head bobbin’ spirit amid the healthy riffs.
Further along into the 8 tracks, “GDL” offers a bristling and hard-hitting display of fury and melody, while “Deceso” (Death) leads with a bit of atmosphere via the reverb and delay before building into a thick and rowdy album highlight the rumbles with a charged intensity.
Onto the back half, the chunky bass of the title track segues into the raw, hard hitting and anthemic delivery that might remind you of Bad Religion with a gym membership, and “Existir” takes its time flirting with jazz ideas before erupting into a uniquely rhythmic version of hardcore. “Por Una Cadena Más Larga” (For A Longer Chain) exits the listen with incendiary rhythm section and tuneful guitar moments that tip their hat to the almighty Brian Baker (Dag Nasty, Bad Religion, Minor Threat).
A raging and very focused record, Altar finds Flores Y Fuego discussing empowering women, suicide, police brutality, and the daily struggles of living in today’s world. Their music is diverse and memorable, but in a very traditional hardcore sort of way, and the parallels to the legendary Los Crudos are warranted and come with much praise.
