Mientes

This song doesn’t sound like the rest of Tango 4. It sounds more direct, more urgent. The bass and drums set a rhythm that doesn’t stop, and Charly García’s voice moves forward with that mix of irony and sincerity that always defined him. But there’s something that makes it different: at the 1:47 mark, just as the chorus explodes, the bass drifts slightly off the beat, as if it were taking a step without warning. It’s not a mistake, but a detail that gives it that air of controlled improvisation rarely achieved in the studio.

Recorded between January and September 1991 at Overtone Studios, with Pedro Aznar leading production and Peter Baleani assisting on three tracks, Mientes emerged during a difficult time for the musician. That same year, García was hospitalized for the first time due to his addiction issues, yet the album doesn’t reflect that darkness. Instead, it sounds like an artist who, despite everything, kept inventing. The record includes Spanish-language versions of classics like Break It All by Los Shakers (featuring Sandro) and God Only Knows by the Beach Boys, but Mientes is one of the few original songs that doesn’t get lost in the web of influences. It lasts 4:14, just enough time for the bass to tangle with the guitar and the voice not to strain the tone. In 2009, the album received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Clarín Espectáculos Awards, and in 2010 García was declared an illustrious citizen of Buenos Aires by the Legislature, but those accolades came after the song had already found its place among fans. What’s clear when playing it is that it wasn’t planned: it was born from a moment when, even amid hardship, the sound kept flowing.