Rodrigo Y Gabriela – ‘9 Dead Alive’

Mexican duo take inspiration from history on their first album in five years

Even the most stubborn reveller clinging to the last vestiges of a house party will tell you it’s time to retreat once the acoustic guitars come out. That’s unless the nocturnal mariachis playing are Rodrigo Y Gabriela, the quick-fingered Mexican duo who spent their teens tirelessly practising scales for your future delectation. Since 2000 they’ve sold a quietly impressive 1.2 million records, so this first collection of new material in five years – inspired by dead historical figures from the headstrong 12th-century French duchess Eleanor Of Aquitaine onwards – promises much. For all the finger pyrotechnics, the material leaves an empty feeling as resounding as the guitar bodies they clap for rhythm. It’s all jam and no croissant, sadly.

Jeremy Allen

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