En La Guia, En El Listin

Released in 1983, “En la guía, en el listín” (“In the Directory, In the Phone Book”) remains a permanent anomaly in the history of Spanish pop music, with few clear predecessors and even fewer descendants. It is an imperfect yet fascinating catalog of the many faces Derribos Arias could reveal—a promise of greatness left unfulfilled when their career was cut short before reaching its full potential.

By late 1981, the San Sebastián-based group La Banda sin Futuro had already transformed into Derribos Arias. Initially, the band was a duo consisting of Poch and Alejo Alberdi, two seemingly opposite personalities who complemented each other perfectly, forming an almost inseparable partnership. Poch handled the guitar with a highly distinctive style—his technique was not especially polished, but his imagination was boundless. Alejo got to work with a Korg MS-10 synthesizer and a Korg KR55 drum machine, modest tools that ensured their self-sufficiency while connecting them to the more adventurous side of post-punk. Both absorbed music from past and present in a natural and original way.

Derribos Arias’ first two singles dazzled critics eager for new ideas capable of placing Spanish pop alongside the contemporary music increasingly arriving from abroad in real time. ‘Branquias bajo el agua’, the standout track from the band’s debut single, topped the list of Best Songs of 1982 as voted by listeners of Diario Pop on Radio 3.

With an expanded four-piece lineup and a larger budget than they had enjoyed for their earlier singles, the band entered the prestigious Kirios Studios to record their album, with Paco Trinidad serving as producer. The electric intensity of ‘Íntima decoración’ and ‘Crematorio’ —angular, off-kilter reinterpretations of a strain of rock descended from The Velvet Underground and The Stooges, a style with virtually no precedent in Spain—are excellent examples of the band’s sound. To aberrate was the key term Poch used to describe his ineffable working method: a fearless creative freedom without which songs such as ‘Lo que hay’ could never have existed. The track stands as a leftfield proto-hip-hop number, later reworked as ‘Disco pocho,’ demonstrating both his admirable lack of prejudice and his complete disregard for any commercial ambitions the album might have had. Unfortunately, this album would never have a follow-up.

This edition includes liner notes and the artwork of the original insert.

Tracklist

A1.   Introducción
A2.   Europa
A3.   Pobre Cowboy Bill
A4.   Lo Que Hay
A5.   Aprende Aleman En 7 Dias

B1.   Intima Decoración
B2.   Crematorio
B3.   Misiles Hacia Cuba
B4.   La Chica Del Brasil
B5.   Derribos Arias