Natalia Lafourcade album cover
Natalia Lafourcade

Natalia Lafourcade

2003
Epic

Mexican singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade’s self-titled 2003 debut surrounded her gentle, at times even jazzy vocals with delicately plucked acoustic guitar, subtle vibraphone, trip-hop keyboards and deep bass, whispery backing vocals…and thumping dance beats. It had an almost tropical flavor, periodically disrupted by turntable scratches and sampled voices, and the way her vocals floated as if on a breeze only she could feel hinted at the influence of Björk and other self-directed avant-pop creators. It’s a seductive album, drawing you in by making you feel almost as if you’re eavesdropping on Lafourcade’s daydreams on songs like “Mango,” “Elefantes” and “Busca Un Problema.” But then she cuts loose with raw, noisy electric guitar on “Te Quiero Dar” and goes epic with the power ballad “Mírame, Mírate,” proving herself to be a master of multiple pop forms even at the beginning of her career.

Phil Freeman

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