Alarma recently released their first full length album, Ripe Conditions, and will be having a free 21 and over CD release party this Friday at Karma Lounge in Korea town.
Being from Los Angeles, Alarma takes advantage of the mixture of cultures and ideas that make up this great city and its members bring to the band their different cultural and musical backgrounds which create an intoxicating cocktail of musical rhythms and musical influences that borrow elements from punk and rock & roll and are combined with cumbia, ska, reggae, gipsy and flamenco music.
Although Alarma (Spanish for alarm) is sure to have you dancing from the very first notes, Alarma will also “alarm” you about what’s going on in our world today through their powerful and hopeful messages against the political environment in which we live in.
Below are some highlights from the album:
“The Last Train”, which has just been released as the second video off the album, is a song that starts off with a drum beat and guitar riff that grabs you from the beginning, then the rest of the band comes in and it takes on a retro, almost Mediterranean, feel, but at the same time it still feels very contemporary, which is one of the things I love about Alarma, because they are able to combine musical styles and it an almost seamless fashion.
Other notable songs are “We Are the Ones” which is one of the most interesting songs I have heard in a long time with a mixture of different time signatures and different musical styles, all in the same song. “Indignados” is a song that talks about the occupy movements that happened all over the world in the last couple of years. “Gipsy Love” takes you on a musical and almost visual journey with its gipsy melodies. “To The Left” starts off with a hard driving ska sound with a flamenco guitar solo in the middle of it. “Ancient Light” it’s a hard rocking guitar driven song reminiscent of post punk bands.
Ripe Conditions can be downloaded from the band’s website and Alarma can also be followed on facebook .
Also joining Alarma at Karma Lounge this Friday night at 9 p.m. will be Loup Garou MF.
Karma Lounge is located at 3954 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004, (213) 375-7141. Free parking is available.
