Exile On Pain Street
(Exilio Doloroso)
--Roquero--

Review # 1 --
Miami NewTimes

The rock I've heard in most Latin rock seems to be derived from such pathetic sources as Journey, Foreigner, Styx, and Loverboy -- slick, glossy stuff that reeks of formula whether the vocals are in English or Spanish. Not so with Arranca, a Cuban-American rock en espanol trio from Cincinnati whose debut album
"Exile on Pain Street"
(Exilio Doloroso)
screams and wails like the
Rolling Stones album
from which it scavenges its name. Led by one-time Miamian
Victor Garcia-Rivera, Arranca mixes
the confrontational assault of three chord punk with daring rewrites of Latino classics such as
"Oye el Cha Cha,"
a Forties hit first recorded by
Cuba's Trio Matamoros.
Arranca is among the gazillion bands playing at the Bayfront Park Amphitheatre Sunday, August 18, during the Premios Rock Latino festival. On Saturday, August 17, they'll be doing an acoustic set at Cafe' Nostalgia in Little Havana.

Neither performance should be missed.

-- By John Floyd





Review # 2 --
Punk Planet

Well here's a nice change of pace -- an intelligent, hummable, politically aware (though not PC), billingual (half in spanish) indie rock album. Can't say I ever expected to see the day. Hey, it isn't perfect, but it's pretty damned catchy, and quite entertaining (never heard "Guantanamera" as a punk song before). A rare thing -- something different and good.

-- (DC)



Review # 3 --
City Beat / Cincinnati

And speaking of somewhat unconventional sounds, not only does Arranca play a natty, heart-felt brand of Punk that largely gets passed over by the more sugar-sweet brand, but they throw in Spanish language lyrics in with the English. Quite a risk in most musical communities, let alone for
Cincy's
notoriously
slow-to-catch-on sonic tastes.
Arranca --
led by Victor Garcia-Rivera, who comes from a family of Cuban exiles and produces a short wave radio program that has been greeted by
Cuban governmental "resistance"--
spits and rolls out feisty, intellectual and immediate messages about Garcia-Rivera's and his familiy's experiences with a personal and honest depth that is largely unrivaled. The band's debut, Exile on Pain Street, operates on the level of a
conceptual magnum opus
and is one of the
best releases of the year so far.
Join the group for a show at the Southgate House on Saturday. Proceeds will benefit
"Brothers To The Rescue,"
a Miami-based organization
that aides fleeing exiles from Cuba
and who recently had their planes shot down
by Cuban "authorities

-- By Mike Breen



Review # 4 --
The Chicago Reader

September 21-- Blue Demon Room, Depaul Alumni Hall, Chicago: Cuban Native Victor Garcia-Rivera mixes punked-up Spanish folk tunes with disarmingly naive bilingual three-chord anthems on this Cincinnati trio's debut release
Exile on Pain Street (Roquero).
"Himno Racional", a racous take on the Cuban national anthem, has been banned by one Miami radio station and the Cuban government; you can't get much punker than that nowadays!


Review # 5 --
Ink Nineteen

As a musical record,
Exile on Pain Street (Exilio Doloroso)
is a fairly decent one. Arranca's obviously multi-cultural nature is in the open, as they switch from Spanish to English effortlessly. These roqueros
(Spanish for "rockers," duh!)
have a strong love for their native Cuba, and in fact most, of the songs here are clearly about the homeland, its exiles,
and its current inaccessibility.
This record, above average in music, but I must say that its sentiment is highly admired -- rarely these days does someone sing as passionately about ideals, preferring instead to wring their hands over
bitchy companions.


-- By Anton Wagner



Review # 6 --
Rational Inquirer
Arranca really surprised me by managing to incorporate traditional acoustic guitars, while not losing any edge. They successfully came up with an ethnic flavored melodic punk record covering several Cuban tunes in the process, while
showcasing
their
Ramones influences.
Very original
and
worth listeing to.

--By (NM)


Review # 7 --
OPEN ZINE

Just imagine a Punk band. A Punk band that sings in Spanish/English. Now put all that together and make the vocalist / guitarist (Victor) Cuban -- is that a beautiful combination or what? The first track, "Oye el Cha Cha" is Punk/Hardcorish, kind of like Garage-Punk. Plus it is sung all in Spanish. Then you are thrown into
"Where I Come From" (De Donde Soy).
The song has a pop-punkish feel to it. They also sing
"Guajra Guantanamera!"
This stuff is fresh!!
As Victor puts it
"We're the I Love Lucy of Punk Rock."

OK NOW, THE FOLLOWING IS VERY FRESH STUFF FROM JUNE,'98...
THE BAND IS BACK, AND NOW TAKING SOUTH FLORIDA AS ITS HOME BASE. IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING, AND THE TIME IS NOW!
ARRANCA HAS ARRIVED!

cLiCk HeRe
for the latest press.

Here's the story from
The Miami Herald

Want the entire scoop on the band?
cLiCk HeRe


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