This is essentially acoustic folk music, which might come as an unpleasant surprise to hardcore STP fans. I’m not and can appreciate its desolate ambience; my musical tastes are about as diverse as it gets; wherever it may be. “Perdida” is, after all, a Spanish word meaning lost.

Some of the songs themselves are also nice. Others just humdrum along. The best include the title ballad, which, appropriately enough, begins with what sounds like a flamenco guitar. “I’m lost in circles most the time,” Jeff Guts confesses, “Behind the smile, I’m slowly dying.”

Is he being overdramatic? Perhaps, but that’s sort of what the band’s going for here. The album begins with a sad “love” song entitled Fare Thee Well and, with the exception of She’s My Queen, there isn’t a glimmer of hope until the end when a Sunburst is at last revealed.

my rating : 3 of 5

2020