Leonino

Formerly the lead vocalist of the Chilean rock band, Los Prisioneros, Leonino (also known as Jorge Gonzalez) has been identifying with the young, rebellious generation across three decades. It is then of no surprise that his capacity to capture and encapsulate the musical predilections of the kids hasn’t diminished with the production of the happy-go-lucky pop smorgasbord that is his latest solo album, Naked Tunes.

The assertive musician is obviously a man who is determined to truly crack the international arena, opting to produce this solo album in English and, therefore, somewhat ostracising a subset of his devoted Latin American fan base. Though his uncomplicated, repetitive style of lyricism means that one would only need a crash course in the language to understand the transparent emotiveness of his meaningful messages. For the fans who have been listening to the creative crooner since day one however, Naked Tunes is a far cry from the sardonic antagonism of his former band’s bilious, political defiance against the stifling dictatorship that once ruled his country, yet it still exhibits Leonino’s trademark wit.

Leonino employs his understated, high range baritone vocals to full capacity here. There’s a similar timbre to John Lennon in there whilst his accent, thickly prevalent in his vocalisation, adds a Latin-influenced charm and suaveness that is synonymous with the music of his culture.

The songs on Naked Tunes sound unpolished and emaciated – Naked, for lack of a better term. Often they build soundly enough but fail to reach the zeniths they promise. Ultimately, Naked Tunes provides insubstantial and sometimes discordant synthesis only acting as cladding to the intimate relationship between Leonino and his acoustic guitar. That passionate guitar playing is demonstrated in the opening minute of My Love Will Set You Free and one can’t help but feel that this was Leonino at his most comfortable.