HOT HALF DOZEN 10.14.25

148 songs, albums, videos submitted this week for review

Memory and Return, album by Quetzal and  David Hidalgo. A pioneering album that honors East Los Angeles, the birthplace of Chicano music.  Produced by Grammy-winning Quetzal Flores, the album features the Quetzal orchestra and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, with lyrics, music memories of four generations of artists from the 1930s to today. The songs are varied, quirky, and different.  A tour of the history of one of the tributaries to today’s music stream.  Listen on Spotify and other major platforms. Spanish and English.

Malportada, single , by Nancy Peluso.  The title says it all – in English, it means “badly behaved woman.”  Peluso is raw, wild, experimental – like the salsa in this EP. But this is not the salsa of leggy women as video accessories – She stakes out a woman’s leadership in Latin music.  The song will make you move, and her vocals will excite you as she and the men in Rawayana call and respond. Stream on all major platforms. Spanish.

A Matter of Time, album by Laufey. The Icelandic singer is an unusual combination of classic jazz, 1940s romance movie music, and modern pop.  In a way, this album is a bridge between the music your grandparents tapped their feet to and the music on the radio and streaming platforms today.  Very sophisticated, but very approachable.  And a lot of fun.  Stream on all major platforms.

Not Defeated, album by Angelique Francis. Francis’s latest album is an eclectic collection of blues that rests on her electric voice, her electric (and sometimes stand-up) bass.  to make blues lovers jump and shout.  Fifteen songs that range from down and dirty talking blues to gut-wrenching harmonica-accented trap blues.  So much fun.  Stream on all major platforms.

Como Un Pájaro, single by  Silvana Estrada.  Simply beautiful, as are all of her songs.  Estrada knows how to curl her voice into your ears and your heart.  With simple piano-led instrumentation, you can sway to this song or just close your eyes and listen.  Stream on Spotify and major platforms.  Spanish.

Nadia Se Va Como Llego,  single by Angela Aquilar. The 21-year-old Mexican-American from Los Angeles,  youngest of the performing Aquilar musical dynasty family,  with both Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations,  charms and soothes with this song “No one Leaves as they Came”.  With the voice of an angel, she captures your heart and your ears.  One of the most beautiful voices in Mexico (and the US) today. Stream on all major platforms.

Banner. Quetzal in concert

Patrick O’Heffernan