Probably not long after dropping "Rail Co." from the name of the un-pigeonhole-able band he leads, Matt Wignall decided that the fourth full Havalina longplayer should be yet another concept album. Said concept in part would revolve around recording Latin American music without consciously absorbing any Latin American music. Another part of the concept must have been to cryptically and amorphously relate a tale involving the titular entities of space, love, and bullfighting. Lastly, the intention must have been to mess with listeners' minds to an extent to which his eclectic musical aggregation had not heretofore approached. Wignall indulges inspirations from the nooks and crannies of what must be one cool record collection. Just when you might have pegged him for a roots monger, he gets all trip-hop spacey like an imaginary jam session with Stereolab, Portishead, and They Might Be Giants as participants somewhere in Central America. In the concluding suite, the band even ventures into art-damaged acousto-industrial terrain, and a wheezy organ is a constant throughout. Faith content of the lyrics isn't always readily apparent, but like T-Bone Burnett doing an especially ambitious mindset, a moral fable unfolds. Another band too good and brainy for the evangighetto. That's Havalina again.
Editors' ratings - Doug 3/5, Jason 4.5/5
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis July 2002Reviewed by Matt ModrichHavalina's first two albums weren't typical Tooth and Nail back when they were Havalina Rail Co. Despite shortening their name and being away from Tooth and Nail for a while, their musical variety remains one of a kind. "Space, Love & Bullfighting" is a concept album with all the songs generally being about those three topics. Although it could be argued that space and bullfighting are simply…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Dave KerschbaumTeaser: Havalina takes us on yet another field trip: outer space, via Spain and Mexico. Havalina Rail Company have always been quite good at mixing different musical genres effectively -- often genres that seem to otherwise have nothing to do with each other. On Space Love & Bullfighting, Havalina (they have opted for the shortened name) have not stopped at musical genres, but have woven together…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Alex KlagesHavalina (or Havalina Rail Co.) has a music output that has been consistently inconsistent over their recorded history. This is precisely the quality which has given them a dedicated underground following. Listening to Havalina's first four studio albums is akin to listening to a cross-section of American popular music of the last century, with everything from jazz to blues to folk to hip-hop…Opus 2002Reviewed by Jason MoreheadIf there's any band out there that deserves a break, it's Havalina (formerly Havalina Rail Co.). It's always a shame when a great bunch of musicians undergoes label travails, touring disasters, and seemingly more lineup changes than The Cure, but in Havalina's case, it's just ridiculous. After releasing a couple of albums on Tooth & Nail (which, for some inexplicable reason, got lumped in with…Similar sounding releases
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