Daniel Villarreal - "In/On"

Photo by Ariana Lebedev

I loved Dos Santos's 2021 album City of Mirrors, so I'm obviously going to give any member of that band's solo work a chance. Drummer Daniel Villarreal just released a new solo single, "In/On." It's an instrumental song that fans of Dos Santos are sure to love while still becoming its own thing with a unique sound. There are elements of traditional Latin music, but I don't think I could call "In/On" purely a Latin song. Villareal also includes funk and some indie rock to create this oddly cinematic song. This is a wonderfully compelling song that has us eager to hear more of what Villarreal is up to.

Daniel Villarreal describes his new song:

“... for me, the song is about how we are all IN and ON. As if we are about to start something so you walk in and turn an ON switch.  No one knows what's going to happen after that but we are all into it. We are all IN. I also think it’s a fun reference because in Spanish there is only one word - ‘en’ - for both of those English words ‘in’ and ‘on’.”

You can listen to "In/On" below. Panama 77 is due out May 20 on International Anthem, and can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp. For more on Daniel Villarreal, check out the artist's website.

Dos Santos - "Alma Cósmica"

Photo by Jose Calvo

Despite not covering a lot of Latinx music here, we've been getting more and more into Chicago's Dos Santo. Maybe it's because they're considered an alt-Latinx band, but they're music just works for us. Their latest single, "Alma Cósmica," is a short two minute burst of a song where the only complaint is that we want more. There's a 1960's spy movie soundtrack groove under the song, over hypnotic lyrics and killer saxophone. It has an edge to it that isn't quite punk but has some of punk's roots. As someone who knows embarrassingly little Spanish, "Alma Cósmica" is an impossible to resist track.

You can watch the video for "Alma Cósmica" below. City of Mirrors is due out October 15 on International Anthem. You can pre-order the album at the label's Bandcamp. For more on Dos Santos, check out the band's website. There is an album release/Dia de los Muertos show happening in Chicago at Marz Community Brewing on October 30.

Dos Santos - "A Tu Lado"

Photo by Victor Duarte

We don't cover a lot of world music here at If It's Too Loud..., but something about Dos Santos just works for me. The Chicago based alt-Latinx band just released a new single, "A Tu Lado," which translates to "by your side." While the song is obviously a Latinx music song, it doesn't sound like any typical Latinx music I've ever heard. It's takes a traditional Latin groove and gives it a psychedelic alt-rock edge. "A Tu Lado" is an irresistible song, even if you're not a world music fan. 

Bandleader Alex Chavez says of the new song:

“We walk, march, and travel across these thresholds so that we may come to know the truth about our pasts—in the hopes of inching closer to futures that are not quite in view, of inching closer to a place being dreamed within the dream, that nonetheless exists outside the dream… And in that unbridled desire we discover the promise of these unknown paths only by walking along them at each other’s side.”

You can watch the video for "A Tu Lado" below. City of Mirrors is due out October 15 on International Anthem. You can pre-order the album over at the label's Bandcamp. For more on Dos Santos, check out the band's website.

Dos Santos - "City of Mirrors"

Photo by Victor Duarte

Chicago's Dos Santos are blending traditional Latinx with a more contemporary sound. Their latest single, "City of Mirrors," is grounded by an impossible to resist groove. Along with the traditional Latinx sounds, they've added a little soul and R&B in here. It's the kind of song that even if it doesn't sound like your usual thing, you truly owe it to yourself to check out. It's an endlessly compelling song that truly sucks you in, even if you're not Spanish speaking yourself. The feel of the song conveys emotion far better than lyrics ever could.

Alex Chavez says of the new song:

“‘City of Mirrors’ is a love song to Puerto Rico amid the aftershocks of disasters. Inspired by Gabriel García Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude, Puerto Rico to us is like Macondo—the city of mirrors, a central character in that novel—a place of beauty and trauma, of struggle and triumph. Indeed, the Caribbean as a whole is ground zero for this dichotomy, borne of the legacy of colonialism in the ‘new world,’ much as Macondo. This song is a tribute to this place and its enduring story.” 

You can watch the video for "City of Mirrors" below. City of Mirrors, the upcoming album from Dos Santos, is due out October 1 on International Anthem. You can pre-order the album over at the label's Bandcamp. For more on Dos Santos, check out the band's website.

Dos Santos - "A Shot in the Dark"

Photo by Victor Duarte

Chicago based alt-Latinx Dos Santos are making some of the most interesting music out there. "A Shot in the Dark" blends traditional Latin/American music with an almost futuristic sound. "A Shot in the Dark" is folk... ish? But it would also be right at home in the chill room of a rave. It's an intensely layered song that isn't quite like anything I've heard in recent memory, yet it's traditional base makes it oddly familiar but hard to describe.

Since I'm having a hard time describing the song, let's let Alex Chavez do a much better job than me:

“My go-to when I’m trying to imagine melodies is Huapango music. It’s part of how I grew up, it’s music that’s important to me.

 

“Nathan and I were actually working on another song, trying to find a sound on an electric keyboard to use, and we stumbled on the beginning vocal sample. Elliott pushed us in that direction. I’ve never sang that way in Dos Santos, but—in the spirit of experimenting—we just went there and it fit perfectly.” 

You can watch the video for "A Shot in the Dark" below. The song is available as a single via International Anthem. You can get a copy over at Bandcamp. For more on Dos Santos, check out the artist's website.