SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: EMPANADAS ILEGALES – SANCOCHO TRIFÁSICO

EMPANADAS ILEGALES
SANCOCHO TRIFÁSICO
WE ARE TIME

Vancouver-based seven-piece band, Empanadas Ilegales have returned with their third full-length album – their first studio record since 2022’s Creepy Mambo – Sancocho Trifásico. Recorded in three phases, in three studios, the album captures the fusion of west coast psychedelic rock and traditional Latin influences.

Sancocho Trifásico opens with “Suto Ta Kandá (de las 4 a las 12)”, featuring performances from Druiz, Myles Bigelow, and Jerlin Torres Salgado. Interestingly, the track is also the first song from Empanadas Ilegales to be led by vocals in what makes for a rapturous performance that opens the album with a grand level of excitement. The album continues with the instrumental track, “Mano Peluda”, a song that makes use of a gaita, an indigenous Columbian instrument and feels much more traditional in both songwriting and performance.

Musically, Empanadas Ilegales navigate an array of songs that weave between styles as waves of guitars, drenched in wahs and flangers, echo across a soundscape of Latin rhythms and instrumentation. There is an element of improvisation that feels apparent as the band vamps across a harmonic structure beneath instrumental solos, making the album feel all that much more exciting and live. Highlights from Sancocho Trifásico include “Chicharra”, “Cumbia Rajá”, and the album closer, “Matador”.

Throughout the 10 tracks presented on Sancocho Trifásico, Empanadas Ilegales blur the lines between traditional Latin influences, from Afro-Cuban to Samba, alongside subtle elements of ‘60s rock and psychedelia, making for a thoroughly enjoyable musical experience. As such, Empanadas Ilegales have curated a highly original sound that feels as modern as it is traditional and, with the addition of vocals, are continuing to expand on that very sound as they play with style, instrumentation, and voicings.

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