New York, NY (Top40 Charts) 'La
Santa Cecilia,' the seventh and self-titled LP from the Grammy-winning LA quartet, is out this Friday, October 18th via Rebeleon Entertainment / Universal. Produced by honorary "fifth member," five-time GRAMMY and twelve-time Latin GRAMMY winner
Sebastian Krys (Elvis Costello, Luis Fonsi, Shakira, Enrique Iglesias), the album is a musical and spiritual triumph, a celebration of life in the wake of immense tragedy - the loss of three of four of the band members' fathers in a single year - that equally honors the Mexican, Venezuelan, and Nicaraguan musical heritage of the band's forebears, and the LA musical heritage of their punk youth.
Written under the influence of mafia movies, The Beatles, the 21st Century cautionary tale that is 'Black Mirror,' the other 21st cautionary tale that is a 2 A.M. Trump Tweetstorm, and the band's "bohemios" lifestyle, the album is an amalgamation of styles from folk to hip-hop, salsa to surf-rock, and bachata to bolero. A snapshot of the band in their self-proclaimed "adolescence," confident and deft in their musicality and lyricism (it's no wonder NPR quipped that "Strong songwriting, expert musicianship and hard work is the 'secret' of their success") while refreshingly vulnerable and introspective, 'La
Santa Cecilia' is proof of the band's immense growth since their beginnings gigging at Quinceaneras and funerals around Downtown LA.
Kicking off with the exuberance of disco-flecked "Always Together" before moving into the desperation and vocal power of righteous belter "A Thousand Times," the album reaches its emotional climax with "I've Been Thinking," a tribute to the band's lost fathers and lost love that transports the listener to the stage of a smoky jazz club, watching La Marisoul parse through pain with her bluesy croon. "Winning" is a punk-rock take on social media overload (especially when it comes to faux activism and virtue signaling) that had Rolling Stone preaching: "plead La
Santa Cecilia: quit your phone, start a band," and the album wraps with a faithful, earnest cover of the Bessie Smith classic, "Nobody Knows When You're Down and Out."
This fall, La
Santa Cecilia will introduce 'La
Santa Cecilia' to fans at select dates nationwide, showing off the unmatchable live chops bestowed upon them by their namesake La
Santa Cecilia (the patron saint of music) in a full-band set up.
About La
Santa Cecilia
La
Santa Cecilia is accordionist and requinto player Jose "Pepe" Carlos, bassist Alex Bendaña, percussionist
Miguel "Oso" Ramirez, and La Marisoul. Since busking traditional Mexican music on LA's Olvera Street, they have gone on to collaborate with Elvis Costello, Los Lobos, and John Paul Jones, win the GRAMMY for Best Latin Rock Album, and play the likes of the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall.
