Album Notes

Unsatisfecho, the new release from Contramano, is a breakout album. The punky chamber-pop trio has managed to fuse classical and pop sensibilities for a work with all the dramatic strokes of a concept album, yet plenty of spontaneous attitude. 
A new orchestrated sophistication, only hinted at in their self-titled début, is given full range on Unsatisfecho, and Pablo Cubarle’s masterful cello is perfectly suited for the deeper emotional depths plumbed here. The title comes from combining the English word unsatisfied with the Spanish word insatisfecho, and while most of the album is in English, there are also songs that address Pablo Cubarle’s Argentinian homeland.
Contramano is not a political band, but a socially aware one.
The title track, Unsatisifecho refers to the state of living in a consumer society gone haywire, among a never-ending quest for more, that’s played out by celebrities on reality shows every day. The feeling of frustration can be found on TV Reality, which deals with our culture’s obsession with fame, to Jugando with Ghosts, dealing with the millions of undocumented immigrant workers living in the U.S, who are often to referred to as ‘ghosts’, struggling to survive without family, country and culture.
What remains unchanged is Contramano’s deft melodies and spot-on songwriting backed by driving rhythms. The band’s pop tendencies prove irrepressible, and quirky touches like lightning-fast changes in tempo and Pablo’s arching vocal stylings are pure Contramano. Unsatisfecho undoubtedly makes Contramano a band to watch.

“This Argentine and Spanish transplant trio happily go dumpster diving for new wave leftovers, but they also hang onto their Latin roots and come up with something quirkier” New York Times

“Cubarle has bilingually found a romantic socialist poetry to match his sound, which looks toward the future of all-nations’ politics without repressions, without government intervention or class separation.” New York Press

“Classically trained Argentinean cellist Pablo Cubarle leads Contramano, a largely riff-less punk trio that channels angst through arty-pop prisms in deliriously
charming, spirited shows.” Flavorpill