Chercan - Progressive Voyages Review PV046
I absolutely love avant-garde prog rock. I am one of the few people I know who has amassed a gargantuan collection of avant-prog from every corner of the world…. I have avant-garde discs from bands all across Europe, from Mexico, from Russia, from Japan, from Australia, from Canada, from Indonesia and the U.S. But I had never before been introduced to Chilean avant-garde prog.
Until now. Until Chercán.
It is certainly a strange creature, this type of prog. It relies less on commercialism, and more on artistic expression through music. That is not to say, however, that all Avant-garde progressive music is devoid of commercial appeal. Those records DO exist…. And if you can find one…. An album that simultaneously stays true to its artistic mission and yet is imbued with a commercialism that can give it a wider audience, you have come upon an absolutely rare diamond indeed.
And found one, I have.
Chercán’s self-titled 2025 release is hybrid avant-garde and mainstream progressive brilliance defined. The band, consisting of Martin Peña, Simón Catalán, Roberto Faúndez, Matías Bahamondez and Rodrigo González, have come together to create something extremely special and very unique and original. I don’t even understand the lyrics (they’re in Spanish) and that matters NOT ONE WHIT when it comes to the appeal that this record holds. It is gorgeous; at once softly melodic and meditative, always overtly rhythmic, and at other times relentlessly driving itself forward with a bombast and heaviness that belies its melodic bent. It is also, in true avant-garde fashion, experimental and difficult to chart in places; it purposefully throws wild multi-instrumental sections and time signatures at you and switchbacks with no real rhyme or reason…. When it moves in an awkward direction, it is solely because it wants to. And that, friends, is what avant-garde is all about.
So…. Join me, won’t you? Let’s watch the white leaves fall, walk in parallel times, and listen to the Story of Obsession that Chercán expertly weaves as we walk track-by-track through this masterful album.
La Culpa – we start right off the bat with tribal beats that immediately grab your attention. The bass and guitar make themselves known before the great vocal melody arrives and then wafts over the creepy, sinister chord progressions. The sax playing here is phenomenal and sets up the transition into a crushing section that leads us to the chorus. This song is pure emotion and power. Even when the volume level drops off to accomodate a more nuanced vocal, the power is still there… propelled by the drums. And the end of this amazing song is just superb. It builds slowly…. Perfectly and with the continuous adding of instrumentation, until it resoundingly bursts forth with a primal rawness that will blow you backward. WHAT AN OPENER!
Caen las Hojas Blancas – we get more frenzied here, with a rhythmic assault that is sublime to listen to. Once again the vocal line perfectly complements the song, both in structure and mood. The middle section is just groovin’ as it can get and, in pure avant-garde fashion, sends us into chasms of varied instrumentation…. Until the bass and drums take over the beat and let the other instruments play wildly over them. This is, quite simply, a masterpiece of avant-garde rock. And that saxophone solo at the end…. Just….. WOW.
Kalimba – we alter the mood here a bit…. From darker and more sinister, to playful (but still with a hint of sinister in the strange and awesome chord choices). A deftly-played, less “in your face” and more subtle song, this one is…. With excellent mood and beautiful vocal lines. And the (as I now realize) ever present sax is, as usual, a hi-light of the musical menagerie on offer here. The drop in intensity has not meant a drop in quality…. Not in the slightest.
Desolación (EN) – a simple string introduction to the next song. It’s short without much substance, but it’s a beautiful piece of music, and sets the tone for….
Tiempos Paralelos – where ‘Kalimba’ started the downward shift in tone and mood, we arrive at the full downshift here. Even when the drums come in halfway through the song, they are understated; they are tribally background in nature and set as an indistinct backing for the crescendo of the vocals and then the drop back down to a fading conclusion.
Las Mentiras del Muro – welp, enough of the quiet subtlety. Chercán plows ahead full force back to the heavier avant-garde rock that permeated the first two songs on the disc. Pounding rhythmic guitars and drums (with, again, excellent sax playing) will have your head nodding as the vocals play well over the sonic bombast. A little less avant-garde and more straightforward in its song construction toward the end of the track, this is one of the songs that has a more commercial appeal aspect to it.
Relato de Una Obsesión: Part I – we start the song deeply tribal in beat and mood here in part one of a two-part suite. Ghostly vocals play over primitive drums and a cacophony of soundscapes. The sax, as usual is placed perfectly when it’s played. This is a mind-trip of a track…. Very laid-back and meditative. It is lovely both musically and vocally; very easy and relaxing to listen to. It very ponderously and intentionally builds in intensity as the track moves forward, and it makes me very curious where part 2 will take us….
Relato de Una Obsesión: Part II – the flow from part I to part II is seamless. It initially keeps the same deep, meditative vibe. But it crescendos to a powerful version of the repeating refrain and, though it never varies much, it is JOY to listen to…. The way it builds and builds and builds in intensity through to its loud and demanding conclusion is masterful.
7 Colores – the album ends on a softer, more thoughtful wave of absolute beauty and reflection. The notes (musically) and the soaring, haunting vocals lift your spirit and your soul in an anthemic fashion. This is the most straight-forward, non avant-garde track on the record, and is a simply and stunningly resplendent way to send us off as the record comes to a close.
Chercán have crafted a triumph of an album with this self-titled gem. They have managed to take avant-garde sensibilities and utilize them in such a way that the album can hold a wide-ranging appeal for an audience of all types of progressive music. They have avoided the “all too often pitfall” that most avant-garde bands fall into: that of creating something that simply won’t speak to a large number of prog rock listeners. This record has something for everyone, regardless of your preferred prog sub-genre.
The release is not just an excellent album, it is, I daresay, one of my absolute favorite progressive releases of 2025. There is nothing on this record that falls in quality; no track that needs skipping or gets a lukewarm response; nowhere I can find a place to say that “they could have done this better” or “I wish they’d left that out.” It is EXPERTLY crafted; every note placed intentionally and perfectly; and it has resulted in a masterclass on how to successfully integrate avant-garde into the progressive rock mainstream. Do yourself a huge favor and get your copy today…. For this is an essential part of any true prog lover’s collection.
To find out more about Chercán and to buy the album, visit their Bandcamp page. www.chercan.bandcamp.com
Written by Christopher M. Clark