La Santa Cecilia - Buenaventura '2016

Tracks list

In 2013, La Santa Cecilias Treinta Dias won a Grammy for Best Latin Rock Album.
While the recognition was welcome, it was ill-fitting: La Santa Cecilia are a
great pop band no matter what language they sing in. (Their ingenious cover of
the Beatles Strawberry Fields Forever, from 2014s equally wonderful Someday New,
proved it.) During the past two years, these Los Angelinos have become road
warriors, playing clubs, concert halls, and festival stages across the U.S.,
Latin America, Canada, and Europe. Theyve gotten married and had children. The
maturity from these experiences is revealed panoramically on the produced by
Sebastian Krys-produced Buenaventura. La Marisoul Hernández (vocals), José
Pepe Carlos (accordion and requinto), Miguel Oso Ramírez (percussion), and
Alex Bendana (bass) have become purveyors of Pan-American Music, a sound that
spreads across Latin genres, rock, pop, Caribbean styles, and R&B. The sets
first single, I Wont Cry for You, uses conjunto, swinging Dixieland jazz horns,
blues, and a rock & roll backbeat -- thanks to in-the-pocket drumming from album
guest Pete Thomas. Opener Sacudo la Pereza is a modern cumbia that leans heavily
on rocksteady reggae and vintage pop-soul with a killer horn chart. Iconic
Spanish rocker Enrique Bunbury assists La Marisol in delivering a rocked-up,
boozy, passionate reading of Ramon Ayalas classic Tragos de Amargo Licor. Steve
Berlin and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos assist on second single Nunca Más, a
timeless, funky cumbia that exhorts listeners to empower one another in standing
against bigotry, violence, and hatred. While a church organ introduces Here We
Go Again, its actually a gorgeous waltz that weds country music and norteño
(in Texas this happens every single day). This is among La Marisols finest
performances on the album; the interplay between Carlos accordion and guest Bob
Bernsteins pedal steel is gorgeous. Vámonos is a rootsy rock & roll and
cumbia framed by a honky tonk piano, Thomass drums, and vocal assistance from
Argentine rocker Fita Paez. The ranchera waltz Caminante Nocturno is adorned by
the entire Latino Arts String Program from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and reveals
inseparable connections between classical and Latin folk music traditions. Pa
Que Trabajar is a soulful cumbia with killer synth effects and rumbling bass
that brings hooky pop-funk into the equation. Closer Sucede is a seamless
intersection of ska, Latin pop, and rocking polka and conjunto. The spontaneous
element in La Santa Cecilias music remains ever present thanks to their seamless
juxtaposition of genres, excellent lyrics, and energy. Buenaventura is not just
a step beyond their previous recordings, its a leap. The maturity, confidence,
and sophistication on display here are reached by few bands -- especially at
this still-early juncture. Given this stellar example, La Santa Cecilias
Pan-American Music will hopefully become its own genre.

Tracklist:
04. La Santa Cecilia - Nunca Más (3:36)
07. La Santa Cecilia - Vámonos (ft. Fito Páez) (3:36)
01. La Santa Cecilia - Sacudo La Pereza (3:54)
02. La Santa Cecilia - I Wont Cry For You (3:22)
03. La Santa Cecilia - Calaverita (3:20)
05. La Santa Cecilia - Here We Go Again (3:31)
06. La Santa Cecilia - Tragos De Amargo Licor (ft. Enrique Bunbury) (3:25)
08. La Santa Cecilia - Caminante Nocturno (ft. Latino Arts String Program of
Milwakee, Wisconsin) (3:27)
09. La Santa Cecilia - Pa Que Trabajar (3:39)
10. La Santa Cecilia - Sucede (3:27)

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