Album Review: Gabriel Garzón-Montano Pours His Heart In Agüita

I had the pleasure of interviewing Gabriel Garzón-Montano a few years ago, and he is a smart guy that, definitely, measures who, what, or how the world can enter his space. As a creative, I wish more did so, as well. We are like walking sponges, and our ability take in the world feels heightened and planted, in our hearts, like a surge of water threatening to drown our mind’s garden. Thus, it makes sense that Gabriel called his new album Agüita, which is slang for water in Spanish. In this record, he observes all that he has taken in and continues to purport that NO ONE CAN SOUND LIKE HIM!
Gabriel Garzón-Montano – Agüita (Official Video)

Gabriel Garzón-Montano is one of the most unique artists out there. We have SO MANY good artists, but not everyone is necessarily “new” or “fresh” to the scene. For GGM, his music is about addition; what more can he add to the world in sounds and verses that will help expand it. In Agüita, it feels like he is expanding himself. The whole record brings his usual visualness and eclectic nature at matching sounds to form a refreshed rhythm. Moreover, his knack for lyrical poesy remains with tracks like, “Bloom” and “Fields.” He presents each songs like a piece of rich earth he must traverse in order to embrace a universal fact: we all lose.
Gabriel Garzón-Montano – Someone (Official Video)

Part of what makes this album feels so special and pertinent is not just its beauty but also its grief. In it, Gabriel approaches the fleetingness of time, and how everything and everyone eventually leaves your life, including and unfortunately the ones you most love. The theme ricochets to a topic very present in this pandemic, but does it in a way where you don’t feel down. Instead, GGM prefers to either mystify or move you, and, most of the time, do both. From “Mira My Look” to “Muñeca,” Gabriel Garzón-Montano brings out his fun, club-banger side; showing that no matter what, you do keep going.