Cha Cha Palace

Album / Artist: Cha Cha Palace / Angelica Garcia

Label:Spacebomb Records

Release Date: 2/28/2020
Review Date: 4/5/2020

Reviewer: DJ Stace

General Comments / Release Notes:
Killer, complex and layered. At one moment, a wall of sound, another (and without noticing) a Capella. Amazing vocal range and control, with hints of latin, middle eastern and south asian vocal stylings. Smart, angry and relevant dance pop.


Release Note:
"Like Mitski, Lorde, Billie Eilish, and Rosalía, Garcia isn’t afraid to tear pages out of her diary and express emotions that might be difficult and oftentimes daunting to share given today’s social and political environment. Like her peers, she joins a new chapter of musicians who are connecting with their audiences on a level that lives outside the reaches of technology, trends, and social media, the daily experience of feeling torn between saying something and doing something, for being a voice and speaking with your voice, of being Latina while being American. And it’s humanity and honesty that audiences are looking for and will find in spades throughout each note of Cha Cha Palace."

FCCs: 2,

RIYL: Juana Molina, Caroline Rose, US Girls, PJ Harvey, Lhasa de Sela, Mr. Gnome

Play: 16,13,3,4,6,9,10 Rated with *****

Tracks:

1. *** I Don’t Believe In Death (01:44) - Layered, a Capella intro gives way to a brief, soaring vocal declaration with spare organ accompaniment giving way to muffled Latin-infused rhythms that hint at the genius to come.
2. ***** Karma the Knife (03:38) FCC "Fucked Up" - Uptempo, booty-shaking Latin psychedelic indie-pop dance perfection. Brash and demanding of movement. This one will get a CLEAN EDIT at the end.
3. **** Jícama (01:25) - Down to midtempo, lowrideresque handclap rhythm. Latin call & response.
4. ***** It Don’t Hinder Me (04:19) - Midtempo, Chicana Indie-rock anthem. Soars. Great vocal refrain, borders on Diamanda Galas.
5. **** La Enorme Distancia (01:50) - lo-fi downtempo folk sound, in the vein of Latin Playboys, or even some Tom Waits instrumentation. En Espanol. Would play well against Tom Waits, and the like.
6. ***** Guadalupe (03:09) - M.I.A.-esque, midtempo dance Latina power anthem, with dashes of eastern instrumentation and vocalization. Complex, infectious with loads of swagger.
7. **** Lucifer Waiting (04:30) - Starts off sounding a bit like Blondie, then morphs into Latin-rhythm while still being a little Blondie. Killer wailing psych guitar.
8. Llorona (00:53) - Beautiful, mournful, traditional guitar and vocal. Too brief.
9. ***** Valentina in the Moonlight (04:23) - Begins with a flamenco flourish. Powerful and delicate vocals, Angel Olson and Hope Sandoval come to mind, here. Soars to flourish of brass that could make it a Bond Theme contender.
10. ***** Agua De Rosa 03:36 - Midtempo, layered vocalizations as instrumentation. Funky, slinky and otherworldly. Echoes of Juana Molina and Elizabeth Fraser.
11. ** Penny in My Back Pocket (03:43) - Uptempo, disco, feels a little messy, but still interesting. Vocals remind of Annabella, of Bow Wow Wow.
12. **** Jícama Pt. Dos (02:31) - Starts with horn flourishes continuation of track 3, develops more complex rhythms and instrumentation. Builds to great crescendo, then simplifies to whispering ending.
13. ***** The Big Machine (06:42) - Layered a Capella vocalizations and effects form the melody, interweaving and Cocteau Twins-like. Soothing, trancey and lovely. Lyrics come at about 2:45, beautiful and powerful. This is gorgeous.
14. **** Jícama - Edit (02:46) - Alternative version
15. ***** Guadalupe - Edit (03:15) - Alternative version
16. ***** Karma the Knife (03:38) CLEAN EDIT - Uptempo, booty-shaking Latin psychedelic indie-pop dance perfection. Brash and demanding of movement. Play over and over.