With each new single from their forthcoming second album, Dominican electronic trio MULA continue to pick up the torch Rita Indiana set down and run with it. If you’re craving progressive electro caribeño sounds driven by thoughtful lyrics, their sophomore release promises to satisfy your appetite.
MULA’s dancefloor-oriented self-titled debut album was slightly influenced by reggaeton, but leaned more heavily in the direction of underground bass music with the synth pop gloss of groups like Ladytron. On their recent album singles, the group fronted by twin sisters Anabel and Cristabel Acevedo is embracing reggaeton and merengue with both arms wide open, while still filtering it through a startlingly fresh electronic lens. They’re doing it with a sophistication and imagination that Diplo should really be taking notes from. “No Hay Manera” in particular brings all these elements together and points them directly at the future.
Today, we’re premiering “Nunca Paran,” the third single off the still untitled album, which is due in September. This track has a strong indie pop sensibility, revealed in Cristabel Acevedo’s unaffected vocals and Rachel Rojas’ light hand at the controls. You can hear a touch of the group’s roots in the Acevedos’ previous folk-pop band Las Acevedo. At times, the song sounds like The Postal Service took a trip to Santo Domingo, and it’s every bit as delicious and unexpected as that sounds. Paired with pensive synth lines, dembow never sounded so delicate.
Continuing the concept, the lyrics take a philosophical, poetic approach to party themes. Cristabel, who composes the lyrics with her sister, wrote in an email that, “The song is about that feeling when you think something is about to be over but it actually continues and it gets better than what you could imagine. You can relate that to any situation: a party, when a band plays another song at a concert, a few shots after work – anything like that.” It’s definitely a tune for anyone who likes to dance and think at the same time.
As for the album, Rojas, who is behind all of the group’s production, wrote that it will be full of songs like “Nunca Paran,” about “moments that we tried to find the words to describe.” She added that playing in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and at home in the Dominican Republic showed them a lot of the Caribbean spirit, and those influences will be evident on the new project. From what we’ve heard, it already is.