Costa Rica’s Jug Bundish have a passionate love of psychedelic rock. The band wouldn’t sound out of place in the early 70s. While I do like retro bands a lot, “Quimeroide” is a big of a mixed bag. There are songs that work and others that fall short. In addition, the production emulates the very thin sound of the early 70s. It’s funny that the album actually sounds like it already needs remastering.

The band have some in common with bands like Astra, EYE, Beardfish, and Diagonal but unlike those bands, the songs just aren’t as strong. Plus there are times when the vintage keys actually sound annoying, something that I didn’t think was possible. For as fun as the closing number “Fondue” is, I don’t think I would want to hear it again!

On the plus side, the better tracks are the longer ones. “Prima Violento” and “Will-o’-the-Wisp” are both long and quite tuneful. Although, the heavy distortion on the former really makes it hard to listen to the track. “Bundish Jam” is another noisy, sloppy number that was very hard to listen to. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of that through out “Quimeroide.”

Jug Bundish are a talented band musically. They fall short with writing and producing their songs. Vocally they aren’t perfect but they seem to know their limitations and work to make their voices fit the music that they write. So there’s promise here. Unfortunately, “Quimeroide” isn’t an album I’d sit down and listen to on a regular basis.

Rating: 5/10

Tracklist:
1. Mr. Brown
2. Sitio Lunar
3. Cremosidad
4. Bundish Jam
5. Prisma Violento
6. Gaudi
7. Flujo Lidio
8. Will-o’-The-Wisp
9. Fondue

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jugbundish