Andrés - Once Upon a Time in Bakersfield Review

WARNING! The videos embedded in this article contains profanity. Reader discretion is advised.

Andrés Aparicio is now on his third solo release, this one coming less than a year after his previous effort, Heroes, Villains, and All that Jazz. Formerly of the band Terra Alive, Andres’ music is unique in the sense that it hardly adheres to one concrete genre; he blends post-hardcore with elements of emo, R&B, and even flamenca in some songs. This, coupled with his tendency to flow his vocal delivery with fast-paced meter and raunchy/non-PC lyrics make for an entertaining listen.

Once Upon a Time in Bakersfield has album art of Andrés in likeliness to a barbershop quartet member. This differentiates from Heroes, where he is depicted as a superhero. Props are in store for Andres bringing these outfits with him on tour, which adds to the immersiveness of the albums. Andrés boasts some semblance of a persona in his lyrics (dating back to Terra Alive), of which he has an inflated ego and deserves the world. Based on fan accounts and his demeanor on his social media interactivity, though, it can be safe to assume that he is far from the jerk he portrays in his music.

This record has a lot of fantastic moments interspersed to jump out at the listener. One case of this is “Cada Mes”, where the last two measures of the first verse explode into a jolly jam, juxtaposing the relative slow pace of the rest of the tune. The leading single of the album, “High School”, caught me exceptionally off-guard when the sound effect of a motion-sensor bomb from the original Super Smash Bros. is placed in the second verse. This evoked a surge of nostalgia in the matter of a few tenths of a second, much like my personal experiences from high school bring about. Unpredictability in music is one of my favorite qualities, and gets high marks from me.

Andrés’ “Sonny Wides” is my favorite track from the artist yet. The lyrics compare a relationship to the pleasure of a drug, with lines like “Fiend for me like I’m your nicotine, deliver your relief” in the intro, “Savor me, don’t let me leave your sight; sip by sip, I’m yours” in the verse, and the climactic chorus of “And I promise you that I won’t burn out fast; when you think I’m empty, I’ll still pour another glass“. The delivery of these lyrics over a solemn acoustic backdrop make for essential listening. The interpretation of whether the intake of the love as a drug being toxic/relieving is up to the listener, but I’m leaning towards the latter.

What Andrés does best, though, is variation. Where “Sonny Smiles” is endearing and romantic, “Colossal Titan” is standoffish and vitriolic. “Lima Heights” features story-telling over a rap, where “Maybe” would be right at home in a fancy Mexican restaurant in its intro. Bakersfield can be proud of its residential musician, who is currently out on tour with Patternist. If you plan on seeing him, expect him in his album garb, putting on a fantastic show for a small crowd.