Y La Bamba is returning with new music, sharing the lead single “Dibujos De Mi Alma” off their upcoming new album Lucha out Apr. 28. They will also be playing the Lodge Room in Los Angeles on May 2. The follow-up to their 2019 album Entre los Dos, their seventh studio album is a sprawling chronicle of lead vocalist and producer Luz Elena Mendoza Ramos’ time cooped up in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. A period that spurred some necessary introspection and space for her to attempt some healing — while also a celebration of identity, from queerness to Mexican American and Chicanx.
Written just before the world seemed to grind to a halt in 2020, “Dibujos De Mi Alma” traces the complicated feelings of earnest desire over someone you can’t physically be near. But the song is more than just a romantic pining — as Mendoza Ramos wrestles with attempts to “detach [herself] from the unhealthy parts of connection.” Immensely vulnerable and because of it astoundingly resilient, the song is a moving meander through a ghostly but vivid soundscape.
Against the staccato puncture of horns and winding percussion, the soothing voice of Mendoza Ramos hovers purposefully. Her words barely surfacing above the constant wavering back and forth between this hauntingly distorted and serene melody. But soon it’s her vocals that start to surpass everything else, as cymbals crash and the instrumentals grow more frantic, so do her luminous cries.
The song is a sonically lush example of the ways in which Y La Bamba so tenderly and effectively weds Mexican folk with ethereal indie-pop to create gauzily dreamy pieces. It’s the kind of track that invites you in with all its warmth and fragility before submerging you fully into its euphonious tones and textures.
“I’ve been wanting to let whatever feels natural—with rhythm and musical instruments like congas and singing—to just let it be, in the way that I’m trying to invoke in myself,” Mendoza Ramos explained. Revealing that the album is “the continuing process of learning how to exercise my producing skills. I have so many words, ideas to work with all the time, and the hardest part for me has been learning to trust my gut. And figuring out how I work best, and with who.”
Lucha the new album from Y La Bamba is out on Apr. 28 via Tender Loving Empire Records, pre-order it here.
See Y La Bamba at the Lodge Room in Los Angeles on May 2.
Visit Y La Bamba on their website, Twitter, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Y La Bamba tour
April 26 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom (Album Release Show)
April 27 – Seattle, WA – Barboza
April 29 – Sacramento, CA – Starlet Room
April 30 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel
May 02 – Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room
May 03 – Santa Barbara, CA – SoHo
May 04 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
May 05 – Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar
May 06 – Santa Fe, NM – El Rey Court
May 07 – Albuquerque, NM – Fusion 708
May 09 – Dallas, TX – Tulips
May 11 – McAllen, TX –Gremlin
May 12 – San Antonio, TX – Jaime’s Place
May 13 – Austin, TX – The Ballroom
May 16 – Washington, DC – Songbyrd
May 17 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
May 20 – Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
May 21 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Entry
May 23 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
Words by Steven Ward
Listen to “Dibujos De Mi Alma” the new single from Y La Bamba below!
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