Gustavo Cerati Turns Down the Volume on Soda Stereo

If you’re holding your breath for another Soda Stereo reunion, you may want to exhale. It’s not gonna happen. Former frontman Gustavo Cerati has confirmed that the seminal band, which broke up in 1997 because of infighting, is finally caput. “Forget about Soda!,” he told an Argentine newspaper recently. “There won’t be another return.” Apparently, their 2007 tour "Me Veras Volver" was indeed the last hurrah.

You won’t even find a trace of “musica ligera” in the singer’s new solo album, Fuerza Natural, which was already released in Latin America and is expected to hit the states on September 29. “Soda is a thing of the past. My lyrics don’t reference anything,” he added. Instead, the melodic record features 13 acoustic tracks that are said to veer more towards country and folk than anything new wave-ish.

Cerati, who turned 50-years-old in August, composed the songs in two months and worked with a respectable list of musicians, including percussionist Sterling Campbell (he’s collaborated with everyone from Duran Duran to David Bowie), Brazilian Girls keyboardist Didi Gutman, and bassist Byron Isaacs (he’s worked with Willie Nelson and Elvis Costello).

“Déjà Vu” is the first single from the album and, though it’s not exactly unforgettable, it should quench your thirst while we wait for the full album: