I’m a huge sucker for female vocalists, so when I came across Francisca y los Exploradores, I decided to give it a listen. Turns out that Francisca is actually a dude called Francisca Saglietti and as far as I’m concerned, there are no Exploradores. But what I also found was a collection of melancholic, pop-tinged songs throughout his first album, Barbuda. The tracks range from string-heavy ballads like “Virgen” to catchy pop songs that sound like they were birthed by ’80s Casio keyboards. Throughout the record, Francisca’s voice and lyrics mesh perfectly to create simple and sincere songs that blur the lines between folk and pop. Barbuda was released under Discos del Bosque, an Argentine indie record label, and they are cool enough to give out the album for free! You can download the album here, and you can check out Fran do a stripped performance of one of my favorites off the album, “El Dia de la Lenteja,” in the comfort of his bathroom.
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