2000's Folk Songs for Trains, Trees, and Honey was Herren's seminal escape from the groove-inspired Prefuse 73 project and the attractively gauche Delarosa & Asora. the album, though short, was wonderfully vivid and sublime, playing like a soundtrack to the sights, smells, and sounds that makes any skyline strangely bucolic. perhaps i notice this ex post facto, but Folk Songs seemed to be especially focused on a Spanish theme and evoking the charm of Madrid or Barcelona (where Herren consequently resides). Apropa't is among Herren's most anticipated works to date and though it doesn't surpass the first work, it's not too far below it.

a worrisome fact is that the entire album is in Spanish (vocals by Eva Puyuedo Muns), inexorably leaving the musical experience open-ended. but this initial detriment is suspended once you simply accept that, musically, Apropa't shouldn't be starkly different from Folk Songs, which didn't have any vocals at all. i'd consider it another layer rather than a demarcation. language hasn't thwarted listening enjoyment in the cases of TTC's Ceci N'est Pas Un Disque or Smokey and Miho's The Two EPs, the former French and the latter mostly Portuguese. what makes Apropa't particularly successful and engrossing is the manner in which the vocals are used to enliven what would still be considered a pretty good work. most of Folk Songs was devoid of beats and though it carried a particular charm, it still felt open and a bit queer. but when vocals are employed during Apropa't on songs like 'Sigue Tu Camino (No Sabes Amar...),' not only is it charming but it's also much more intimate even with the language barrier.

i am quick to note that the level of appreciation for Apropa't may be highly contingent on one's familiarity with the language employed. for those of us who don't understand it, the album may just be another successful Herren project possessing a different personality. for those of us familiar with the type of music and language, the experience may be radically different; some may find the work deplorable. but i am of the former persuasion and think Apropa't another gem in Herren's musical trove.