Experimental Folk band Y La Bamba confirm that their upcoming record Lucha will be released on April 28 via Tender Loving Empire. The group, led by Mexican American singer-songwriter, producer, and guitarist Luz Elena Mendoza, shared a preview from the new album called “Dibujos De Mi Alma.”
Arranged by Richie Greene, “Dibujos De Mi Alma,” features Mendoza and Julia Mendiolea on electric guitars, Ryan Neil Oxford on keys, Armando Lovera Rada on bass, Lilo Sanchez on percussion, and Billy Aukstik on drums. The song is a mix of romantic mystique and feelings of detachment and loneliness.
“Dibujos de Mi Alma” was written for “a romantic partner right before the shutdown in 2020. It’s a song of longing for this person, but at the same time trying to detach myself from the unhealthy parts of connection.”
Mendoza strips down her soul and sings in the softest of tones, transmitting her despair and yearning onto the audience: “Tanto tiempo sin hablar contigo / Sin saber de tu bienestar / Extraño la manera cuando andabas conmigo.” (So much time without speaking to you / Without knowing how you have been / Missing the way you walked with me).
Speaking of the forthcoming LP, the lead singer says: “Even if I try to fight, I never want to demonize suffering, because that is part of growing up. And it’s difficult, because we live in times where that [stigma] is what’s happening. So if this – talking about my mental health and finding a cure in my homosexuality – is a risk, I hope to find a community to protect me.”
“Dibujos de Mi Alma” is the lead track of Lucha, Y La Bamba’s first album since Mujeres(2019) and the EP, Entre los Dos.
Listen to “Dibujos De Mi Alma” on YouTube:
See the full tracklist of Lucha below:
- Eight
- Dibujos de Mi Alma
- La Lluvia de Guadalajara
- Collapse
- Hues ft. Devendra Banhart
- Nunca
- I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
- Ceniza
- Damned
- Manos
- Walk Along
