Sweet baby Jesus in a bow tie this album is wonderful! Y La Bamba, a.k.a. Luz Elena, brings you nothing less than an exceptional playlist on her brilliant release, Alida St. Listening to this album is the equivalent of a bath tub filled with hot summer rain. As well as a collection of tracks sounding like the opening to any random Woody Allen films.

There is no language barrier too tall to see the magnificent beauty in “Isla de Hierva Buena”. This song, as well as the almost twangy “Las Aguas Venenosas”, are the Spanish based equivalent of the sounds of the desert bluesman Ali Farka Toure. Y La Bamba expels plain brilliance beyond any sort of translation; each and every song brings a pure essence of strength and beauty that anyone can enjoy. Even the atmospheric inclined, “Bothwick Magic” is as entertaining of an interlude as Sublime’s “I Don’t Care to Much For Reggae”. And for those spectacle of a pure foreign prose, a must listen would have to be “Fasting In San Francisco.”

Alida St., is one of the greatest multi-cultural albums made in a very long while. Thanks to Luz Elena’s operative voice and indie inspirations, there is very little missing from this record. With her simplicity of sound, a devastatingly obscure collection of choruses, and a well conceived collection of back up vocals, it is not hard to defend such allegations of greatness. Y La Bamba provides a one way avenue of greatness in a dusty city known as life.

Y La Bamba: Fasting In San Francisco [mp3]

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Y La Bamba: Las Aguas Venenosas [mp3]

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Gypsypop Records [CD, 2008]

1. Alida St.
2. Festival of Panic
3. Fasting In San Francisco
4. My Lukewarm Recovery
5. Isla de Hierva Buena
6. Winter’s Skin
7. Las Aguas Venenosas
8. Bravo Gustavo
9. Borthwick Magic
10. Knuckles