Décima Víctima

Reviews

Décima Víctima Un Hombre Solo LP reissue

DÉCIMA VÍCTIMA was a Spanish post-punk band from 1981–1984, and Un Hombre Solo is one of their last recordings. Un Hombre Solo is a ten-song album that merges Spanish guitar style with the flanged repetition of post-punk to form a basis for crooning vocals reminiscent of JOY DIVISION, but with a decidedly Spanish swagger similar to SINIESTRO TOTAL. It’s a similar energy to PARALISIS PERMANENTE, and DÉCIMA VÍCTIMA should be considered a basis for Spanish dark punk or the “dark sound.”  I’m infatuated with the long moments of quasi-psych-rock-inspired instrumentation that seem to pop up sporadically throughout this album and lend a sort of hard-to-describe but very distinct flavor to the proceedings. Munster Records has lovingly preserved Un Hombre Solo and presented it with only minor improvements to the album art per the band’s request, so the packaging has a fresh but also archival feel.

Décima Víctima Décima Víctima LP reissue

Originally released in 1982 by Grabaciones Accidentales, the label that DÉCIMA VÍCTIMA helped form, this self-titled debut LP has been reissued by Munster. Formed in 1981 by Swedish brothers Lars and Per Mertanen, playing guitars/keys and bass respectively, they later brought on Spaniards Carlos Entrena for vocals, and José Brena to replace their drum machine with a full kit—all to form this legendary, yet very short-lived darkwave group, ultimately playing their last show at Madrid’s Rock-Ola in 1983. These tracks are largely bass-forward, with that classic JOY DIVISION way-up-on-the-neck fretting; guitars rattle simply in the background and emerge through a veil of reverb for lead lines, vocals are hollow yet give off a certain warmth in their resonance, drums are precise and may, in some way, aim to replicate their machine origins. For a piece of Spanish darkwave/post-punk history, and in the genres globally, this reissue is a must! I wasn’t able to learn how much the members of DÉCIMA VÍCTIMA contributed to Grabaciones Accidentales after they disbanded, but the label had quite a run before it was incorporated with fellow independent label DRO, and before both were ultimately and sadly bought up by Warner Music in 1993. But that is not the legacy of DÉCIMA VÍCTIMA! With this LP, Un Hombre Solo two years later in 1984, and a handful of singles and EPs, there is a lot to listen to (if you parse through streaming service comps or cough up the dough for fleeting original copies), starting with this perfectly haunting self-titled reissue. Enjoy.

Décima Víctima En El Garaje LP

Compelling archival release of a studio-quality 1983 garage four-track recording from this Spanish post-punk band. This was a demo for their second and final album, Un Hombre Solo—basically, a skeletal version of that work. To my (Anglo) ears, DÉCIMA VÍCTIMA sounds here like a cross between JOY DIVISION and the GREG SAGE album Straight Ahead—dark, melancholy tunes that take their time to reach their final destination. The heavy reverb and the hint of a rock’n’roll twang somehow brings to mind visions of a nightclub scene in a David Lynch movie, equal parts menace and mystery. Recommended.