Montevideo Mondays (XI)
Let me tell you something about the british influence in Montevideo: some friends tend to think that a lot of people in this city would like to see a double-decker in the street instead of our regular “ómnibus” (buses) that ride through our streets giving public transport. In our colonial times, we actually had a british invasion that left some factories and english-themed buildings. And many people theorize and joke about how different things would be culturally if the britons ruled these lands instead of the spanish kings.
Our relation with English culture is much closer than many of you could imagine and that (of course) got more intense in the sixties, when bands like Los Shakers and Los Mockers shared beatle-esque and stones-esque influences and topped the charts, here and abroad. Even some years ago bands like Astroboy surfed the post-Britpop trend with grace and personality. Obviously adding some other influences, as usual.
Actually, in the middle of the 2000s we had sort of an “invasion” of brit-themed bands. Los Oxford might have been one of the bands that were thrown into that bag (although some might argue inaccurately). But despite channeling those influences, their approach to today may not be labeled with a country flag. Their style seems to move to a traditional, blues based rock. Their most recent tunes seem to be approached with a stoner identity and a sense of humour and embrace any of the clichés that might come out of that.
At the end of last year, this Montevideo band gave a taste of their more developed sound with the Abierto EP, a blend of that style with pulsating guitars that accelerate like a good Oldsmobile. Their urban based rock seems to be a social observation about the optimism of times past and the rock style that went along with that time. They may not be a New Lo Fi band right now, but they are living proof of a music movement that manages to stay alive in the city and tries to develop their style and influences what may come in the future. Those recent songs can be found in RRR their records page, and also in their Soundcloud.
