Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Top 10 Songs of 2019 - No. 9, Y La Bamba



The Year of the Woman continues - the No. 9 spot is taken by Luz Elena Mendoza's Portland-based band Y La Bamba and their vastly underrated LP, Mujeres.   "Underrated" - I had not seen this album on any of the several Best Of lists for 2019 compiled by the usual music web sites and literally had to check again to make sure that it was in fact released this year (it was, last February). 

How can everyone else have overlooked this great album?  Every song has a vastly different structure than the others and several, such as the title song and Conocidos, make use of complex layers of electronic sound that take the band into almost Animal Collective territory.  More specifically, the song Mujeres, especially on the studio version, evokes We Tigers-era AC, while the sonic complexities and layering of Conocidos, as well as this live version of Mujeres, reminds me of AC's What Would I Want? Sky.  The more you listen to the sounds going on beneath the vocals, the deeper you realize the layers go.  As a whole, the album is a dazzling statement on Mexican-American heritage and musical traditions and on being an immigrant woman in the Age of Trump.  I don't know why it hasn't received more attention.

Runner-Up/For Your Consideration:  More latinx music, this time from Lila Downs covering Manu Chao's 2013 song, Clandestino.

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