'80s-Flavored Indie Pop a la Española

Name: Extraperlo

Where They’re From: Barcelona, Spain

When They Started: 2009

Genre: Indie Dance Pop en español

Most Similar: El Guincho, Alex Anwandter, Astro

Sounds Like: Riding on the back of a technicolor dolphin through the gentle waves of the Mediterranean.

There’s very little music that has the power to relax you and get you hype at the same time, but that’s exactly what Barcelona quartet Extraperlo does. Their music, aggressively major key, is a constant wash of yacht-rock guitars, cooling synth ambiances and bouncy pop beats. It’s topped by reverby vocals sung in that deep-chested, Rick Astley way people did things in the ‘80s. It sounds like soaking up the sun feels.

After making a splish-splash in Spain with their debut Desayuno Continental (meaning, lolz, Continental Breakfast), Extraperlo recruited the help of Spanish indie god Pablo Díaz-Reixa, aka el Guincho, to head up production on the group’s sophomore effort, Delirio Específico. And you can hear it – tracks like  “Ardiente Figura” bear his  electronic-yet-warm sonic imprint. Angular-yet-smooth. And, of course, cheesy-yet-hip.

In interviews, Extraperlo has cited not only the obvious of influence of ‘80s Brit-pop, but the Fania All-Stars and Awesome Tapes From Africa blog as well. Those influences maybe harder to hear, but they point to an important aspect of the band: the rhythms are so good. There’s an inherent funkiness, an almost Caribbean syncopation keeping things moving. If the ‘80s actually sounded like this, I for one would be way more nostalgic for them.

Check out the band’s banging new single, “Ardiente Figura,” below, and stream the whole goddamn album on Bandcamp here.