Leonino - Naked Tunes (Hueso Records)

Chances are, not many readers of The Big Takeover will be familiar with the name Jorge Gonzalez, but in Chile and Latin America, his legacy is safely secured as a member of the classic new wave group Los Prisioneros, having toured with the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Peter Gabriel. Moving to Germany in the early 00s and going out as a solo act, Gonzalez, aka Leonino has reinvented himself as an off kilter, eccentric folk/pop luminary not unlike Scott Walker. On his new album, Naked Tunes, he sounds a lot like John Cale’s on his newer releases, effortlessly embracing modern sounds and culture adeptly enough while remaining tied to his past.

The album title, Naked Tunes, is surely an apt one, for the production and instrumentation here is sparse. Even the lyrics are relatively laconic. Pretty much whatever the song title is, such is the same for the majority of its containing lyrics. Yet the appeal of this album is Gonzalez himself with his wistful, almost otherworldly singing voice, comparable perhaps only in delivery to Kate Bush, and like Bush he is deeply entrenched between art and commercial success, happily going his own way. It’s as if he’s isolated from the rest of the world, and only by happenstance does his music occasionally align itself with what could be considered commercial pop.

It’s an album that stands as a whole item without singular, standout tracks, but highlights are the odd and pulsating, yet extremely catchy “I Think We Should Be Friends” and the almost 60’s novelty folk effect of “My Love Will Set You Free.” However, I stress again, that the entire album should be taken as one experience, meant to listen from beginning to end without interruptions, and it is under these conditions upon which Naked Tunes stands out as a truly great and wholly original work of art. Naked Tunes will be released September 15th.