Ola Podrida

To describe this music as cinematic is an understatement. Ola Podrida's songs are aural Polaroids of fleeting feelings, places, and people. Lushly evocative, these are moments in motion, breathing life into sepia-toned memories. This simply cannot be a passive listening experience - the songs work their way into your daily routine and become part of you. Take "Jordanna." Built on a subtle acoustic backbone, images are painted of an alcohol-fueled sing-along in a Cathedral. Jordanna's name is wistfully sung. As the song reaches a fever pitch, horseshoe percussion clicking along and flutes fluttering, we're transported there, to that church, wearily whispering the name of a girl we don't even know. Ola Podrida fills the album with these little moments, making even subtle gestures feel grand. "Lost and Found" opens with the lyric "The car crashed," and when the drums and guitar kick right in, you feel the collision. As the title character of "Cindy" watches her house burn to the ground, the music smokes and smolders, rising to a driving, electric climax. The multi-tracked vocals and jangling tambourine on "Day At the Beach" blow the sea-soaked wind through your speakers, while Wingo's bittersweet recollections evoke an overcast day.