CLARAGUILAR - Figura

A Closer Listen

Witness the birth of a superstar.  CLARIGUILAR is a larger-than life figure, confidently sporting capital letters (a portmanteau of Clara Aguilar) and wearing the most physics-defying dress since J.Lo’s tropical green Versace gown. Few artists ever have a stylist and costume designer lined up before their debut album, but CLARIGUILAR is the exception.  In true polymath fashion, she’s already established a career for herself in theatre, dance, performance art and cinema.  Her debut single, “Pussy Picnic,” boasts a badge of honor, having been removed from YouTube for explicit content, in what we consider a glaring example of gender bias.  Two early singles led to the engaging Mystery Is All EP (2021), and this week the artist is finally ready to unveil her debut album.

After all the hard work, the career-building and the attention to detail, we are happy to report that the album is an unqualified success.  Our only caveat turns out to be a compliment; at seven tracks, the record seems too short, but at thirty-nine minutes, it’s exactly where a vinyl release should be. On Figura, the Catalan composer distills a lifetime of influences, including theatre, opera, chamber music and drum ‘n’ bass, lending the album a distinctly intellectual sheen that steals nothing from its visceral appeal.  The visual component is important to the presentation, but not crucial; while listening, one can imagine the lavish stage set, the phantasmagorical costumes that were first appreciated at Sonar.  On record, the “invisible orchestra” becomes even more apparent.

Like Mystery Is All, Figura follows a defined arc, from careful intro to heightened pulse to quiet comedown.  “Invisible Orchestra” begins with plucked and bowed strings, an elegant entry into CLAVAGUILAR’s world.  As the electronic sounds start to seep in, a blended universe is created, a coalescence of sonic elements.  Sitting at a reasonable 128 bpm, the piece provides no indication that only two tracks later the artist will enter the orbit of drum ‘n’ bass, topping out at 180 bpm.  For two minutes, the artist hides this light under an ambient bushel before offering a teasing glimpse, then tucks it away before revealing it in full.  As the set’s first single, “Ros Elavy” is a declarative statement: expect the unexpected.

By “Mirada Interior,” one intuits industrial tendencies buried beneath the techno veneer.  In “Al Bosc, Cega I Visionària” (which Google translates as “In the Forest, Blind and Visionary”), the artist lets the reins loose, heading into darker IDM territory.  The listener, who long ago abandoned the safety of strings, is more than happy to travel with her.  CLAVAGUILAR cares deeply for any sonic adventurer willing to make the journey, and in “Mise en Abyme,” returns them to the calm of the clearing, like the furthest flicker of an image finding its way back to the foreground, an invisible orchestra finally revealed.  (Richard Allen)