MUSIC PREMIERES
Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso are a Latin/hip-hop/multi-genre duo who are superstars in their native Argentina and much of Latin America, but until recently were little known in the U.S. outside the Latin music genre. That began changing first with their NPR Tiny Desk Concert last fall, then with their incendiary appearances at Coachella earlier this month.
The duo’s 2024 debut album, “Baño María,” featured their strong singing and rapping over largely electronic instrumentation, and although their new EP “Papota” has live instrumentation from their band, it does not prepare you for what an explosive and exciting live band it is — and not only because the group brought the same set to New York’s 575-capacity Bowery Ballroom that they played at Coachella and in stadiums on the recently completed Lollapalooza South America tour. On Tuesday night, they practically erupted off of the Bowery stage.
The duo — who have comic, antic stage presence that belies their serious musical chops — are accompanied by nine top-flight musicians: a three-piece horn section, two backing singers, a keyboardist, percussionist, bassist and a powerhouse drummer (who, astonishingly, has a tattoo of the logo for ‘70s progressive rockers Emerson Lake & Palmer on his arm) — while Ca7riel played guitar on several songs.
All of the musicians’ formidable skills are on full display in their live set, which finds them changing direction in a head-spinning but still fluid manner: They’ll be playing a Latin-flavored song and then make a hard left into hip-hop and then serve up a smooth ‘80s R&B-flavored number that actually had my companion saying, “This reminds me of Bone Thugs N Harmony”; a couple of others veered into cool-jazz territory found the horn section evoking mid-‘70s Stevie Wonder and Earth Wind & Fire (and featured a stinging jazzy solo from keyboardist Javier Burin).
In just one example of the group’s versatility, Ca7riel — who happens to be a blazing guitarist — peeled off some tasteful, jazzy licks on one song, even scat-singing along with his solo a la George Benson, and on the next was rapping loudly while pulling elastic faces and jumping up and down. Even though the joyfully enthusiastic audience knew the words to all of band’s songs — nearly all of which were from the album and EP — and sang along passionately, you truly never knew what was coming next.
But for all of their musical expertise and undeniable chops, most of all Ca7riel and Paco are fun, playing with the audience, making faces, doing a comical exercise routine to their latest single “El Dia Del Amigo” (which they took to even more comical ends on “Jimmy Fallon” earlier this week). And the musicians all looked like they were having a great time too: Clad in more or less matching outfits — white shirts with black shorts, which bassist Felipe Brandy customized with hilarious oversized sunglasses and sock garters — they were laughing, goofing around and cheering each other throughout the set, all without missing a single beat. There were even lasers.
Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso will be on tour in North America for most of the spring, and come back in the summer for Lollapalooza in Chicago and presumably more dates. Even if you don’t speak Spanish or have little familiarity with Latin music, you’d be hard pressed to find a more entertaining live show.
MUSIC PREMIERES
Lykke Li didn’t hold back when speaking about the making of her sixth studio album, ‘The Afterparty’, during a listening session in Los Angeles earlier this year. “Let’s talk about the album. It was a motherfucker to make,” she admitted to the crowd. While balancing motherhood, the chaos of modern culture shaped by Trump and AI, and her own desire to create something more “extroverted, impulsive and chaotic” than ‘EYEYE’, as she previously shared with NME, the Swedish alt pop star arrived at a headspace that “feels like it’s 4am and the sun is going to rise”. The record captures that blurry final moment before regret, exhaustion and reality settle in, which makes it even more emotional considering she has hinted this could potentially be her final album.
There is something fitting about how brief the project feels. With only nine tracks running across 24 minutes, it never overstays its welcome. Lykke immediately drops listeners into the atmosphere with opener ‘Not Gon Cry’, painting a picture of those lonely early morning hours with the line, “No angels here tonight, no dancing queens.” Alongside the shadowy pulse of ‘Happy Now’ and the twisted disco energy of ‘Lucky Now’, she revisits the emotional yet dance driven spirit of her earlier material while blending in the sharper, more confident attitude heard on ‘So Sad, So Sexy’ and the shimmering influence of her 2019 Mark Ronson collaboration ‘Late Night Feelings’.
The emotional fallout begins to settle in quickly. ‘Famous Last Words’ carries a lush orchestral sadness as Lykke reflects on lessons that only came after years of chaos and late nights, confessing, “I had to crash and burn to tell the tale.” Then comes ‘Future Fear’, a delicate acoustic track with robotic textures that stares directly into anxiety and uncertainty with the chilling question, “I’m going to a dark place, do you need anything?” Meanwhile, ‘So Happy I Could Die’ glows like sunrise after a sleepless night, holding onto fleeting moments as she sings about “slipping through the hourglass”.
Throughout the album, Lykke Li vividly captures the beauty and wreckage of reckless nights with the vulnerability that has always defined her music. On ‘Sick Of Love’, she channels heartbreak into revenge, wanting to “make you beg for it” after rejection in a way that feels spiritually connected to Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’. One of the strongest moments arrives with ‘Knife In The Heart’, a track that fully embraces her desire to become the “rock god” and “fuck boy” she spoke about, firing back at anyone who tries to tear her down with the words “you can spit, you can walk on me” while delivering one of the catchiest songs she has created in years.
Closing track ‘Euphoria’ leaves behind the same bittersweet feeling that runs through the rest of the album. With sweeping strings, pulsing beats and emotional intensity, Lykke Li reminds listeners that nothing lasts forever as she sings, “Player play your song, waste the night away”. Like the fading energy of the perfect night out, ‘The Afterparty’ ends in a haze of beauty and uncertainty. If this truly is her farewell, she leaves with one final intoxicating statement, though it still feels like there could be another chapter waiting.
