PHOTO COURTESY ODISSEO
With its electric synergy of melancholic heart and nostalgic synth-pop textures, Mexican rock band Odisseo is set to conclude the five-date U.S. leg of its tour, the touring cycle for its latest album “Tormentas Inesperadas.”
The show will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cine El Rey, located at 311 S. 17th St., in McAllen.
Odisseo is comprised of members Juan Pablo López on vocals, Manuel Uribe on drums, Daniel León on guitar, Rodolfo Guerrero on keyboards and Édgar Macín on bass.
The Rider interviewed López before Odisseo’s inaugural U.S. performance Dec 1. at the iconic The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, a venue where history-making shows have taken place and where the Mexican group officially became part of its hallowed halls.
“It’s very exciting to see all the photos and hear all the stories they tell us,” López said in Spanish. “It makes us a little nervous, but we are ready.”
The tour comes after the band experienced delays due to visa issues and had to reprogram its original September dates.
López said it is “exciting” to fulfill the band’s decade-long desire to perform for its U.S. audience with the tour’s realization.
Odisseo’s signature sound, according to the lead singer, is rooted in a fundamental contradiction, one even reflected in the popular interpretation of the band’s name, which hints at hatred and desire.
“We love to live in that duality, both in professional life and in personal life,” López said.
He added the dual nature also defines its music, which often pairs danceable, high-energy rhythms with profoundly sad lyrics.
López said the band’s latest album, “Tormentas Inesperadas,” explores the inevitability of life’s problems and the very things that give existence meaning.
“We feel that viewing everything through an overly optimistic lens can strip life of its depth,” he said.
López said, metaphorically, the storms are not thought of as a purely tragic event for the band but rather an opportunity for growth.
“Sometimes the storms are the water that waters a plant so that a flower may grow later,” the lead singer said.
The band has evolved its writing process, moving away from strictly autobiographical accounts because having “a broken heart for so long is impossible.”
Instead, López said the band has learned to be “more like observers” and find inspiration in the experiences of others, using a “very common, very colloquial language … that everyone can understand,” which is key for listeners to identify with the music.
The band’s sonic identity is anchored by the synthesizer, which López called “a key element.”
He said the band deliberately cultivates a “vintage sound,” utilizing emulators of strings common in the 1970s and ’80s to create a blend where they “sound like an old band, like the classics, but with the high fidelity that the future and technology bring.”
López said the Cine El Rey show will feature a broad mix of material.
While the recent Mexico tour focused heavily on the latest album, the U.S. dates will pull from “all of Odisseo’s discography—old songs, new songs.”
The decision is a conscious nod to its patient American fans, according to the lead singer.
“We are very conscious of that,” López said. “… Sometimes you go to see your favorite artist and they don’t play that one song you’ve loved for years. We want the people here in the United States to leave super happy.”
Odisseo is known for a high-energy stage presence, he said. The band is not one “that only plays behind their instrument.”
To prepare for its live shows, López offered advice to attendees.
“My recommendation for the audience is that they definitely rest before the show because they are going to be part of it,” he said. “They are going to dance; they are going to scream. They are going to sing; they are going to do everything.”
To learn more about the band, visit odisseo.mx.
