photo by Claudia Adamczyk; photo courtesy of Fernando Perdomo

Album Review of Fernando Perdomo: Self

You’ve read about Fernando Perdomo a few times here at the blog. And you’ve almost read about him a few more times, when his music crossed our desks during times we simply didn’t have time to review all the great music we received. Between performing and recording with other musicians, both well-known and lesser-known, producing others’ music, and recording his own, Fernando’s music output is prolific. His sterling reputation, for his talent and hard work, is well-deserved.

image courtesy of Fernando Perdomo

Fernando’s mid-2024 release Self showcases a broad swath of his rock ‘n roll influences, including energetic, hooky, old-school rock, progressive rock, and experimental and quirky rock.

Disc-opener “Searching For Myself” gives off super-strong Beatles vibes. The soft guitar strums and lilting tone support Fernando’s not-as-gravelly-as-it-first seems vocals, which express emotion and stylistic range throughout the various corners of this song.

Next up, “Everything Leads to Now” sports some nifty guitar-plucking and is a little more experimental within the confines of a classic pop-rock musical envelope. Can someone help me here? In some of the more creatively-unique spots, it’s not exactly hints of Moody Blues I’m hearing, but it’d be someone they might share a stage with.

“Optimist Prime” is a swift, energetic, relatively fast-paced catchy pop-alt-rock ditty that you’ll probably remember from the frequently-repeated lyric “my way” until you learn the song title. It’s the tempo and electric energy that’ll get you hooked.

photo by Erik Nielsen; photo courtesy of Fernando Perdomo

“Absolute Silence” is a grainy, dreamy number that floats along as if elusively off in the distance like a mirage. Or as if you’re listening to it while floating in a swimming pool at a kitschy Route 66 motel. It’s not far from being shoegaze, even.

“Who I Really Am” is a slow-paced number with a kind of funky ’70s vibe.

Instrumental “All of Us Under the Same Moon” has one of the more memorable chord progressions on the album, as the guitarwork trickles like a stream across a bed of music pebbles.

And the album closes with what’s probably the most progressive/experimental rock thing possible – a nearly-20-minute track entitled “Self.” Essentially, the entire B-side, if this were on vinyl. The song is a meandering journey, but it’s so tightly assembled that, when it’s over, you realize that, while it’s clearly a long song, it doesn’t feel nearly as long as the 19 minutes and 41 seconds that elapse. The song itself is a journey to self. Or perhaps mostly Fernando’s self.

And that’s really what it’s all about. As Fernando himself says, “Self is not just an album. It is a definition of who I am. It is the most complete statement I have ever made as a recording artist.” We should thank him for sharing the statement with us; it’s a cool musical journey.

More Recently

Since releasing Self in 2024, Fernando has committed to releasing a series of “Waves” albums in 2025, one each month. Waves and Waves 2 are already available, while Waves 3 can be preordered. Fernando has also released a cool single entitled “Is That Love.” All of those recordings can be found on his bandcamp page.

Album Review of Fernando Perdomo: The Golden Hour

Fernando Perdomo is a modern manifestation of a ’70s/’80s soft rock reimagination of Tom Jones, crooning love songs with warm, fully orchestrated rock ‘n roll sound beds. Musically, he’s a ’70s/’80s slow rocker, someone whose music suggests influences from Moody Blues to John Lennon, his rolling soft rock numbers offering hints of the more piano-heavy numbers from the repertoires of Kansas or Styx.

The Golden Hour kicks off with “Sunset (Intro),” a piano intro that leads into a rich, lush, slow, Moody Blues-esque crooner, “Sleep.”

Fernando then picks up the tempo with “Spotlight Smile,” a familiarly comfortable, totally laid-back yet energetic ’70s guitar pop-rock-ish number, something well-suited to a concert on the beach. Perhaps the beach shown on the album cover.

image courtesy of ACR Management

Indeed, beaches, palm trees, and sunsets seem to be the perfect backdrop for most of The Golden Hour‘s songs. The next track, “Look At the Moon,” deploys some mild guitar hooks a bit reminiscent of Cheap Trick. Mellow Cheap Trick.

“Here With Me” is a nice ballad, its guitar hinting at a Hawaiian twang. “Sunset,” meanwhile, opens with a guitar sound and vocal intro relatively akin to Pink Floyd. The mellowest Pink Floyd you’ve ever heard.

“Love Loss Repeat” is one of my favorite songs on the album, lyrically a clever thought, with standard mid-tempo drumming, mellowly powerful melodic rises and falls, and interesting supplemental harmonies. Perhaps my very favorite is “I Feel (Therefore I Am),” with an interesting, classic guitar line, mid-tempo rock with a bit of an ’80s distorted axe flair.

A couple more songs are standouts, as well. “When You’re Here With Me” is a close-your-eyes, turn-out-the-lights slow rock swayer, suitable for an arena full of lighters held high, with a late-song guitar solo driving home that classic arena rock lineage. And album-ender “Gold,” even though it protests “I’m tired of sleeping/It’s time to live” sways and jangles almost as if it wants to put the listener to sleep. As such, it’s a great closing number, gently lifting the covers up on this engaging 13-song soft, classic, ’70s-era, lushly produced pop-rock album and putting it to bed.

Excellent musicianship, tight songwriting, and warm, precise production combine to deliver The Golden Hour, a disc that clearly showcases Fernando’s talent from the first listen and whose songs’ initially apparent strengths grow on you with repeated listens, as you start to notice the precision and interesting details.

Kansas, Cheap Trick, Moody Blues… Fernando Perdomo is a soft pop-rock version of a lot of my favorite old rock bands. And that’s pretty cool for whenever I want to hear good music with rich, lush, full production, but don’t want it too loud. Per Fernando’s website, The LA Weekly says he’s “The millennial answer to Todd Rundgren.” Yeah. I wish I had thought of that.

Looking Ahead

I don’t see any upcoming shows listed on the Events tab of Fernando’s Facebook page, but be sure to check back regularly to see, particularly if you’re in southern California, since he’s based in Los Angeles.