Album Details

• Artist: Suns Of Orpheus
• Album: Amoris Orbita
• Label: indie
• Year of Release: 2012
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: mark_morton on 2012-08-31

From the first track, Suns of Orpheus grips you with its unique spin on Latin-flavored jazz fusion with very strong rock elements.

Although many of the lyrics are not in English, do not be deterred, as the music alone conveys a vibrant, effervescent emotional wellspring. Amoris Orbita is very Brecker Brothers meets early Santana. And unlike many Latin rock bands, Suns of Orpheus' sense of musicality is not hindered by an over-abundance of instruments clamoring to be heard. Rather, the band keeps things minimal and allows the purity of the individual components to shine.

Keeping the party moving, the second track "Birth of Music" oozes a Latin disco funk with a bit of Barenaked Ladies modernist quirk.

And since you cannot have a Latin rock album without a bit of romance, we are treated to "Tree of Love," which exudes bucket-loads of sensuality, and as an added surprise, come chorus time, Suns of Orpheus bops into a bit of ska!

What I find most fascinating about the band is that although it has harnessed a Latin-jazz-rock sound, it is not afraid to move beyond the confines of those genre-traits. For example, "Agua de Coco" features some ripping neo-progressive keyboard work, and "Deseo Mayor" rings with Hendrix-influenced guitar chops.

If there is any criticism of Suns of Orpheus, it is the lack of a fulltime brass section, which would add a classy sheen to the band's sound. But perhaps the band doesn't want to go over-the-top with an already rich cultural inspiration. It more than amply compromises with one of the most wicked percussion performances this side of The Police.

Suns of Orpheus, in a nutshell, sounds like a band that stepped right out of the 1970s, bringing along with it everything cool about the music of the era, and retooled it for modern consumption. When I listen to Amoris Orbita, I really feel like kicking back with a marathon of Chico and the Man, The Mod Squad, and Sanford and Son!

User Reviews and Comments

Review:

on 2012-09-08 Carlito Said:

Austin-based Suns of Orpheus blast through the Indie scene with their massive debut album Amoris Orbita. Frontman for this band of many talents is Brazilian-born Frederico Geib.

As a connoisseur of various World Music traditions, it was easy to hear the myriad of influences on here. Its hard to nail Suns down into any one category. Its almost as if theyre trying to elude us and defy genre altogether, but yet it all somehow works. I heard everything from the awesome sounds of West Africa to jazz-fusion, funk, psychedelic rock, reggae and Brazilian and Latin to name a few. And if Im not mistaken, there are several languages represented hear as well.

From the fun and dynamic Encanto to the smooth title track or the nearly international punk-vibe of Birth of Music, this album proved itself to be a delight for me.

Highly creative energy-packed music with a clean recording and even mix equals an enjoyable listening experience. In all fairness, I couldnt find anything negative to say about either the band or album.

Of course by the end of it all, I had to Wikipedia Orpheus to discover he was an ancient Greek legend who could charm all living things with his musica pretty lofty goal for any band these days, if you ask me. But Suns arent too far off from accomplishing just that. A powerhouse of a band, a powerhouse of a debut album, these guys seem to be in this for the long haul. Lets hope so.

Rating: 8/10