Shortly after the release of their fierce, creepy EP “Historias Paceñas y Otras Yerbas”, Argentinian eclectic fast hardcore punks TALACACTUS join us for a special track by track commentary below!
Talacactus is a hardcore punk band from José C. Paz (Buenos Aires), formed in 2014 and known for its psychedelic mix of fastcore and swingin’ rock’n’roll infused vibes, with some incorporation of the world and indigenous percussion elements. Content wise, their lyrics focus on paganism and stories from the urban periphery.
In 2019 they recorded their first self-titled album, where they showed their interest in taking hardcore punk to new horizons. That same year they also made a tour that took them to six cities in Chile. Their new EP called “Historias paceñas y otras yerbas” (Stories from José C. Paz and other herbs), sees the band paying homage to their hometown, a working-class neighborhood where factories and paved streets are scarce, but there are plenty of urban legends and fantasy.
“In this four-song EP we rescue some popular myths,’ – comments the band. “Stories like the suicide of a priest at the Nazar Anchorena Mansion, the close encounter between a UFO and two Mirage combat aircrafts of the Eighth Air Brigade on September 17, 1985, and the case of a young woman who produced ghostly apparitions.”
The material can now be heard on all digital platforms, in addition to having a promotional video for their song Poltergeist, filmed entirely in emblematic places of José C. Paz such as the castle of Managua and Fray Centeno, the former Topolin factory, or the headquarter of the Red Ant, to name a few. The album is also available in physical format, in a special edition on CD whose packaging is an envelope sealed with wax, putting collectors in the difficult decision of choosing between breaking the seal and listening to the record, or keeping it closed.
Track by track commentary:
Poltergeist: This is an incident that occurred in 2013, where a newly married woman saw small beings entering and leaving her room in her house in José C. Paz. Later it was discovered that it was a case of phantasmogenesis, in which she herself generated these presences without knowing it. A few months after the observations began, Liliana Flotta, the researcher of parapsychological phenomena in charge of the event, died, so the story was wrapped in a halo of mystery.
Castillo: The Nazar Anchorena Mansion was built in 1914 by one of the richest families in Buenos Aires as a summer residence. At about 50 meters they also built the Sacred Heart Chapel (later demolished), where baptisms, communions, weddings, and masses were celebrated every Sunday. The house was abandoned many years later, and it is currently known as “the castle” by the residents of the Sol y Verde neighborhood, who also say that in their windows you can see a hanged man every Wednesday at midnight. According to the story, the hanged man was a priest from the demolished chapel who committed suicide on the first floor of the house, and his soul was condemned to repeat his death every Wednesday.
Area 51: On September 17, 1985, residents of the entire Buenos Aires suburbs fixed their eyes on a bright object that crossed the sky. Although they later tried to deny it, the Air Force sent two Mirage planes from the Eighth Air Brigade, at that time located in José C. Paz, to intercept it. The pilots ascended up to ten thousand meters high, without being able to get close, and the reports they gave about the event never transcended. Legend has it that the evidence of this close encounter with a UFO was secretly kept at the Cerámica Alberdi plant, making it the local Area 51.
Incomunicado: This is a cover of Todos Tus Muertos, a band that has its own legends, such as the habit they had of stealing flower crowns from cemeteries, turning their gigs into funerals that stank of rotten flowers.
