CD Review: Y La Bamba, Lupon (Tender Loving Empire)

By Casey Jarman

[PRETTY IN POP] When you read about Y La Bamba, it's often a visual description—like an indie-pop Lady Gaga, tall-'n'-tattooed frontwoman Luz Elena has a steez that often overshadows her band's actual music. Which is a shame, because the group's sound has come a long way as of late. On the long-awaited debut full-length, Lupon, that point is underlined like 12 times, highlighted and circled with little hearts.

Still, Y La Bamba is also a divisive band, and it's easy to hear why: The album, like the live show, sometimes feels more like a talent show than a collection of songs. Elena and guitarist/vocalist Ben Meyercord practice vocal theatrics, with Elena's voice—part indie-pop pure and part gymnastic R&B diva; as comfortable singing in Spanish as in English—fluttering above the thick arrangements. Like Tune-Yards' Merrill Garbus, Elena will be too playfully operatic for some on the minimally arranged "Crocodile Eyes" and "Isla de Hierva Buena"—and the band falls prey to a few indulgent vocal overdubs elsewhere on the record.

But Lupon strikes a balance of far-out acoustic ballads and knife-sharp, reined-in pop songs. Opening number "Monster" is a fittingly haunting and loose example of the former, while the next track, "November," with some inspired vibraphone work from Mike Kitson, is focused and driving, reminding slightly of "Linger"-era Cranberries in its wall of foggy sound.

That wall, constructed in five studios and with two producers (Chris Funk and Mike Anzalone), is the album's great strength. Though a few songs (notably the shuffling, accordion-driven "Festival of Panic" and the stomp-along "Fasting in San Francisco") get lodged in your head, Lupon is more about finding a feel—brought out by impressive production that takes as many lessons from Guided By Voices as it does Mark Kozelek—than delivering the hits. And it's physical proof that Y La Bamba is a lot more than a pretty face.

SEE IT:

Y La Bamba plays Mississippi Studios on Friday, Sept. 17, with Brothers Young and Ah Holly Fam'ly. $10 advance, $12 day of show.

WWeek 2015

Casey Jarman

Casey Jarman

Casey Jarman is a freelance editor and writer based in East Portland, Oregon. He has served as Music Editor at Willamette Week and Managing Editor at The Believer magazine, where he remains a contributing editor. He is currently working on his first book. It's about death.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office.

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