Sonorous Present

Grammy-winning Quetzal Flores likes ‘working with talented people,’ so answered the call of this author, educator and member of Latinx luminaries Dos Santos to produce his debut album. With talented musicians from Chicago and LA and esteemed poet Roger Reeves alongside, it took four years to make. Prompted by the loss of a sister and both parents, the best of these 13 ‘sonic meditations on loss, migration and mourning across America’s borderlands’ share a deep sadness and an aching beauty. As with Dos Santos, the music is multi-layered and ambitious, and similarly Chávez can sometimes over-egg the pudding and lose sight of a basic recipe so evident in the wonderful opening sonic triptych: ‘Luz’, the single ‘Cómplices de Luto’ and ‘Dando los Días’, with its quasi sea-shanty backing. With so much going on, the longer numbers can occasionally drift, but this rich, thoughtful album always intrigues and promises much to come.