MI CUEVA

Listen to MI CUEVA by El Polen.

El Polen was an acid folk group from the Andes. Boy were they. Mi Cueva lays it all out: quenas and antaras (what sounds like the pan pipes), charangos (what sounds like the ukulele), and an unmistakeable hippie sensibility that connects over time and space.

Mi Cueva sounds superficially like Simon & Garfunkel's El Pasa Condor (those pan flutes), but this is heavier, deeper, and more interesting. I love how it builds and blossoms into those gorgeous vocals. I think it shares the same beauty and sensibility as Bros by Panda Bear (which may be a stretch but is definitely a mutual compliment).

Photo: View of Villarica through a car window and the trees.