Oktubre

The album kicks off with simple structures that unravel into guitar and saxophone solos, as if each track had two sides: one that drags and another that explodes. Fuegos de octubre and Motor psico are two clear examples: they begin with repetitive riffs and whispered vocals, but in the middle they open up into improvisations where Gonzo Palacios’ saxophone and Skay’s guitars fight for the spotlight. Divina TV Führer, on the other hand, is an accelerated rockabilly that uses black humor to discuss propaganda and masses, while Ya nadie va a escuchar tu remera —with its brass and syncopated rhythms— seems like a ska punk song disguised as a bar tune. Critics at the time highlighted the eerie atmosphere Melero achieved with the keyboards, a sound that felt like a dystopian future but also like something already unfolding on the streets of post-dictatorship Argentina.

In 2007, the Argentine edition of Rolling Stone ranked it fourth on its list of the 100 best Argentine rock albums, but in 1986 they weren’t chasing records: Charly García and Zeta Bosio from Soda Stereo had lent them a portastudio to test ideas, which they used to record demos before entering Panda. The process was chaotic: Indio sang melodies over drum machine patterns programmed by Gonzo Palacios, and together they fine-tuned the beats until the sound clicked. There were no studio corrections or exaggerated retouches; what ended up on tape was that decadent mess they themselves defined as "a midpoint between the pop sophistication of Soda Stereo and the raw energy of Sumo."