Original released on CD Sony 889854391621
(MEXICO 2017, May 26)
Lila Downs is one of the best singers on the continent. It’s not her voice, although that’s great; it’s her drama, the way she plays up the emotion in every word that passes her lips. She can begin a line controlled and reserved, then end it by soaring. Thing is, quite aside from her incredible expertise, I just like her. There’s more personality in her voice than just about anyone’s. When she sings, I want to listen, like a kid wants to listen to his mother sing. I just can’t turn the record off. On "Salón, Lágrimas y Deseo", Downs finds her equal in a band that can be stunningly gorgeous (“Urge,” “Palabras de mujer,” “Seguiré mi viaje”) and also delightfully offhand and breezy (“Querreque,” “Envidia”). The production skillfully highlights her vocal strength and has some genuine accomplishments, like making “Querreque” sound like an actual party. The album is a mix of covers and originals, but Downs uses most of the songs to make a point. She has been called “a Mexican Laurie Anderson,” which (ugh) doesn’t fit at all. But that analogy does convey this: she’s experimenting. There’s a subtle feminist message throughout the album. A classic song like “Seguiré Mi Viaje” is powerfully self-assured when delivered by a woman, channeling its machismo to new ends as she tells an unappreciative man, “Soy dolor que nunca te ha dolido... / Si no te gusta lo que traje, / adiós: que de algún modo, / seguiré mi viaje.” And the followup, “Ser Paloma,” an original, finds a dominated woman, who seems to view her husband as a hated commandant, dreaming of leaving. Maybe she won’t be able to leave tonight, but soon, and until then the dream sustains her. “Son de Juárez” deserves special mention for its lyrics. It begins with a line for the ages: “La vida es corta / Ya no me importa. / Hay tantas cosas que quiero contigo que importan más.” (“Life is short / That doesn’t matter to me / There are so many things I want with you that matter more”) The song goes on to swear loyalty to her home state of Oaxaca and all the diverse people in it, listing the incredible number of indigenous languages spoken in that state alone. It’s not a perfect album, and some of the musical touches annoy me, like the indescribably weird chipmunk trombones on “Tus Pencas” that seem to have become more common in Mexican music. But the album is mostly highs, and God do I love the highs. (in RateYourMusic)