The troubadours from Empordà who dedicate verses to Rodalies, Aliança Catalana and the PSC

La Bisbal d'EmpordàA romancero is a traditional composition in verse, intended to be sung or recited in a festive and popular setting, which narrates current events as a social chronicle. Many musicians interested in folk heritage have replicated the formula, such as Jaume Arnella, Quico Pi de la Serra, or Bob Dylan himself. Now, the group Fetus, from La Bisbal d'Empordà, has also joined this trend and has just released their sixth album, Romancer tartera (Bankrobber, 2026), made up of 13 punk-rock rooted romances. They talk about the most recent Catalan reality, referring, more or less subtly, to the commuter trains, the airport expansion, the PSC, Sílvia Orriols, Carles Mazón, or the America's Cup. The first live concert is on April 30th in Barcelona, at the Teatre Casinet d'Hostafrancs, and they will then continue in Girona (May 9th), Lleida (May 16th), and Altafulla (May 30th), before an intense summer touring all over Catalonia.

The core of Fetus is formed by singer and guitarist Adrià Cortadellas, bassist Telm Terradas, and drummer Adrià Jiménez, who rehearse and create regularly from La Bisbal and its surroundings. They then have four great musicians as luxury allies, such as Carles Belda on accordion and, for the first time, also with Joan Colomo (who is the producer) doubling the electric guitar. "On this album, we have been called chroniclers and we agree. In the end, it's all an exercise in understanding the romancero as a predecessor to the press and wanting to vindicate and reinterpret it as a genre that often has a certain objectivity, but the mere fact of singing it is already a political act in itself," explains Adrià Cortadellas.

The fusion of garage punk and folk music, so characteristic of the group, remains intact in this latest work. The accordion, the violin, and the bagpipes happily blend with the hard rhythms of the drums and the distortion of the guitars. The songs move between the ironic and witty tone of La Trinca, the power of The Clash, the Irish folk of The Pogues, or the protest song of Billy Bragg, from whom they adapt A new England to turn it into Una nova Catalunya antifascista. Fetus are like fairground troubadours. Horned-hand minstrels. A squad of nineties rudies who live the Catalan of here as a great madness.

"We are putting highly topical issues on the table"

All this forms an album in the shape of an auca that portrays a country that is going downhill or, directly, through the rocky terrain. "Perhaps there is less putaespañolismo Musically the songs have a lot of strength. Without a chorus and descriptive, faithful to the romance genre. Themes such as the anthem of liberation of

Musically the songs have a lot of strength. Without a chorus and descriptive, faithful to the romance genre. Stand out themes like the anthem of liberation of Camarada; the Candidatura de progreso that promises the expansion of the airport and Hard Rock; the ode of Mori el brunch, with the invaluable collaboration of the extremely sharp voice of Quim Carandell; or Macrofestival, which hits the nail on the head regarding large events "subsidized by arms funds that destroy neighborhood festivals". Also the Romance del topo, about an undercover cop, with Xantal Rodríguez, from Remei de Ca la Fresca; Una nueva Cataluña, dedicated to Sílvia Orriols —“your alliance is a new yoke”, she remarks—; or the decalogue of Mazón's negligences in Romance de la Rambla del Poio.