There’s a vintage quality to much of the rock n’ roll music that Eldorado peddle. The Madrid quartet are bluesy enough to draw comparison to bands like Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake and Led Zep, but its their groove, moxy and hep that mark out their true calling as Deep Purple’s sons. Babylonia Haze, their third album in English (their remaining back catalogue consists of companion Spanish releases), has a tendency to slip into formulas but the heart of the piece beats strong, hard and true.
The instrumentation is riddled with strong, warm tones and kitsch touches. The harmonic warbling keys of a ramped-up Hammond crash all over tracks like “Be Satisfied” and “Flowers Of Envy”, whilst the jingoistic acoustic guitar, clean licks and fluted riff of “Resurrection Song” make all three a bit too marmite for their own good. When these affectations drop back into the mix a little more, the power rock, hooks and licks of tracks like “You Don’t Wanna Need Her” and “Mad Woman” should see you back onside.
There’s also the stone cold groove of “Karma Generator” to lap up. It’s a track that sticks you back out in the slow lane, arm hanging out your window, head gently bobbing along. And when they pull back on the throttle, the honest, often explosive, balladry of “Goodbye And Carry On” and “Moon Girl” get you in the gut with the lyricism extracting deep emotion. The gorgeous, folk-fuelled “Breath The Night” goes one step further piling lilting violin on top of gently-strummed acoustic guitar. It’s proof of just how far the band are willing to bend to the will of their music.
The album does kind of go out with a whimper, and the whole lacks staying power, but there are enough sweet melodies and softly burnished structures to strike a chord with fans. Quite why Eldorado haven’t achieved wider recognition is a surprise, because when they hit their stride they rock like the veritable bastard.
(7/10 John Skibeat)
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