The Zurich-based Gutiérrez Brothers, guitar wizards in their own right, team up once again with Dan Auerbach to create the ethereal Sonido Cósmico.
If you’ve ever wondered what Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys is up to these days, take a listen to this album of cosmic instrumentals. The Hermanos Gutiérrez (Spanish for Gutiérrez Brothers) were born in Ecuador but moved to Zurich, Switzerland, where they still reside. They are singularly talented guitarists who started out making Latin-based jazz recordings, but found their footing by exploring their passion for the desert-drenched music of Enrico Morricone. Their producer? – Dan Auerbach.
Their fifth album, La Bueno y el Malo, released in 2022, consisted of tracks inspired by Morricone’s soundtrack for the film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. It was produced by Auerbach on his own Easy Eye Sound label, and earned him a Grammy nomination for Non-Classical Producer of the Year. The music was by turns ethereal and disturbing – a far cry from the brothers’ earlier efforts – one that recalls to mind the filmic nature and visual imagery conjured up by Morricone, along with shades of the short-lived group Escondido, traces of Surf Rock, and fragments of the early ’60s instrumental hit “Telstar”, by The Tornadoes.
Their most recent album, released in mid-2024, is entitled Sonido Cósmico (cosmic sound) and continues in the same vein. The recording is almost entirely instrumental, conjuring up a visual landscape of emotional intensity that ranges from tranquillity on Earth to contemplation of interstellar travel. The two brothers trade lead, with Alejandro Gutiérrez on electric guitar and lap steel guitar, while Estevan Gutiérrez plays electric guitar and various percussion (maracas, bongos).
Dan Auerbach plays bass and/or electric guitar on several cuts (and mellotron on track 2), while being heavily involved both as Recording Producer and mixer. The overall atmosphere is highly reminiscent of the work of Daniel Lanois, with notes lingering in the mind long after the track is over.
It is impossible to single out any particular track as more worthy than another, though the languorous “Until We Meet Again” is an especially beautiful composition. That said, the album is an organic whole from start to finish, the 12 tracks evoking a theme of galactic connections. As a side note, the composers on all 12 tracks are listed as Daniel Alejandro Hotz and Stephan Ricardo Hotz, the birth names of the Hermanos.
The sound quality is superb, having both clarity and warmth. Cosmic music indeed, and highly recommended.
