If the first Boleros Psicodélicos sounded distant, it was. The “isolation album” was recorded during the social distancing plague days. In contrast, Adrian Quesada got to be in the room with nearly everyone for Boleros Psicodélicos II, 12 smoldering Latin ballads created with nearly as many guest artists. BP II should sound like you’re there. At a June listening party, Quesada told a room of fans how being face-to-face with his collaborators was his favorite part of the project. Getting a second chance was his next favorite.
Boleros Psicodélicos did romantic throwback songs well, but the Laredo border town kid-turned-Latin funk, neo-soul, and hip-hop exponent was not quite satisfied. Showing his stripes, the Grammy-nominated Black Pumas co-founder, multi-instrumentalist, and producer likely surprised no one in wanting to do more, but said fans prompted him to actually make the move. A “second chance” was worth it because Quesada had ideas for a fresh approach in the vault, reaching toward a marriage of musical colors as clear and compelling as the kind Quesada admires on albums like Roberta Flack’s First Take.
Boleros Psicodélicos II hits with searing, taloned tracks, steeped in Sixties and Seventies sounds, and though Quesada always has so much more to say, the Brownout, Grupo Fantasma, and Ocote Soul Sounds band member let others do the talking. For singers on BP II, he entrusted vocals to Spanish-language vocalists from around the world. Rising Californian Chicano lo-fi pop star Cuco wrote lyrics to the resigned, mournful opener “Ojos Secos” in front of Quesada and recorded it the same day. Afro-Cuban jazz singer Daymé Arocena wrote and recorded the potent R&B-tinted closer “No Temeré” about as quickly, but delivered vocals to the soulful ballad with a depth of emotion worthy of the bolero title. If punch is what you seek, the powerhouse delivers.
Quesada also turned to Puerto Rican singer iLe, who introduced him to an unusually bitter, scornful big band composition recorded by Queen of Bolero Olga Guillot. “A lot of early boleros are kind of naive, damsel in distress,” said Quesada in June. On track two, “Bravo,” “iLe kind of reclaims it.”
Boleros Psicodélicos II hits with searing, taloned tracks, steeped in Sixties and Seventies sounds.
Colombian ensemble Monsieur Periné, too, is on the album, along with American singers like Angélica Garcia, with sour powerhouse delivery on “No Juego,” and Argentina’s Natalia Clavier, with a stirring siren song, “Tu Poder.” Garcia, Clavier, and iLe all sang on the first Boleros Psicodelicos. Quesada worked with Chilean singer-songwriter Gepe for the first time on “Te Vas y Yo Te Dejo,” but even that proved to be a family affair; he discovered the song, written by the artist Joseles, thanks to a friend, who happened to be the songwriter’s child.
Quesada’s predilection for hip-hop rings clear through the midcentury languor. Co-producer Alex Goose, who has worked with Childish Gambino and the San Marcos-launched collective BROCKHAMPTON, brought his touch to the entire record, spending hours to hand-quantize the drums – a music nerd’s term for something like fixing the timing. Quesada himself is a music nerd through and through, one with a deep love for Digable Planets and Roberta Flack.
“These are loosely boleros,” he said in June. “These are boleros-ish.” With the classic form they share a sense of longing, but with modern music, a hypnotic, rhythmic groove. If all goes according to plan, he said, there’s no reason not to make Boleros Psicodélicos a trilogy.
Adrian Quesada
Boleros Psicodélicos II (ATO RECORDS)
Mr. Mota and Jamby El Favo
Jam N Mota EP (InnerCat Entertainment)
Young Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Jamby El Favo smokes a few laid-back love songs with Colorado-to-Austin reggae fourpiece Mr. Mota.
Los Desechos
Cumbias Levantamuertos (Self-Released)
Dive into trippy Seventies throwback surf cumbias, “to raise the dead,” from an Austin supergroup known and loved for leading the Hotel Vegas cumbia night.
Cecilia + the Broken Hearts
“El Regreso” (Las Placetas Productions)
Chicanx Futurism supergroup, featuring former members of Como Las Movies and current members of Nemegata, fuses cumbia with rock en español in this out-of-time instrumental.
This article appears in July 18 • 2025.