It’s been a long time coming but it’s been well worth the wait. La Santa Cecilia, the little Latin band that could, finally did with Treinta Días, its major-label debut EP via Universal Music Latin Entertainment. The eight songs on the album are an infectious, Spanglish mix of bolero, ranchera, norteña, rock, even country music, a sound the band has been honing since the founding members came together in 2007.
The album begins, very appropriately, with a song titled “Nuestra Señora La Reina De Los Angeles.” The band’s identity has always been tied to the city. Singer La Marisoul’s family owns a business in Plaza Olvera and the band shot its first music video there for “La Negra.”
The track is followed by “Monedita,” a carefree jam where Marisoul proclaims “el sol brilla más que el oro…” before flying into the song’s chorus about not needing expensive, flashy, blinged-out anything to be happy.
She then channels her inner Diana Ross and brings the soul on “Cuchara,” “Falling,” and title track “30 Días.” Can we go ahead and proclaim that La Marisoul is the official spokesperson for chingonas everywhere now that Jenny Rivera has (sadly) passed away?
Mother F*cking Elvis Costello (!!) makes an appearance on “Losing Game” as a guest vocalist, trading lines with Marisoul. They’re backed up by Pepe, whose accordion work makes it sound like we’re watching a tragic romantic tale unfold at a Parisian café.
The water works come out on “En Fin,” a song about a lover who realizes that the love is gone. It’s also very norteña-sounding (it‘s all about that tuba!) so be ready to break out the chelas and watch your uncle get all sad as he reminisces about the one that got away.
The album ends with single “El Hielo,” an immigration tale that has its own powerful, pseudo-documentary music video. There’s not much more praise I can give this song that my peer El Güido hasn’t already.
Treinta Dias confirms—on a national level—what many L.A. locals have come to learn in the past six years: La Santa Cecilia is the voice of bicultural latinos in the U.S. and the band’s time has finally come.
Download La Santa Cecilia’s Treinta Dias below:
