It often behooves us to discern the definition of words to better understand what it is they are attempting to convey; even more so when these seemingly uncommon words are strung together. Such examples of this would be Wiz Khalifa or Taylor Swift Music or Picaro Obscuro.

I’ll refrain from attempting to analyze two out of these three seemingly pointless phrases, and focus on the latter.

Simply put, Picaro Obscuro is the equivalent of Obscure Adventurer, or so it would appear thanks to various results via Google.

Not so simply put, it is macabre poetic brilliance dancing on the rusted ruins of a once glorious travelling carnival courtesy of the modern semi-Caveian stylings of J Hacha De Zola in the form of the follow up to Escape from Fat Kat City.

With an unwavering commitment to his attention drawing artistic vision, Hacha De Zola paints the darkness once more in vivid tones and sporadic bursts of light set against a backdrop of the dark edges of society. The parts of the city that you grip the steering wheel tightly through while keeping your gaze locked purposefully in front of you to avoid noticing the unsettling architecture and murals comes to life in the form of Picaro Obscuro. Relocating to Portland, Oregon, Hacha De Zola admits this sophomore release is the continuation of “the journey of this guy, ‘our protagonist,’ a man who may exist on the fringes of experience, but whose heart is chaotically good.”

Dark, somber, obscure (and other various synonyms), perhaps rogue in the execution, Picaro Obscuro is an embodiment of the moment Mr. Furious, et al. unceremoniously convened in the lair of Doc Heller to become the heroes we didn’t know we needed.  The release is a sobering eleven tracks that ultimately pan out into a trip-inducing experience comparable to tapping into a hidden piece of you that is huddled in the fetal position somewhere in the dark recesses of your psyche crying out for creativity you think society will frown upon.

It is with a captivated, numbness to my surroundings that I found myself waking from Picaro Obscuro. The intriguing calling of another successful collection was too much to resist. The result proves that Escape from Fat Kat City was no fluke. Bound to be identified as borderline chaos amid noise, the success achieved by J Hacha De Zola is best described as Sui Generis. Discern that Taylor Swift!

Greg is a co-founder and regular contributor of Nanobot Rock.