premiere: stream Maria Usbeck’s transportive debut LP Amparo
Although we were certainly fans of her work in the "voguish summertime goth" new wave band Selebrities, Maria Usbeck's timeless solo debut LP is a somewhat unexpected, subtly dazzling triumph that registers as one of the most pleasant surprises of the year. Co-produced with the great Caroline Polachek of Chairlift and sung almost entirely in Spanish -- Usbeck also deftly weaves in bits of Rapa Nui from Easter Island, Quichua from Ecuador, Bribri from Costa Rica, and Catalan -- Amparo is a breezy and lucid journey, culminating in the serenely shimmering back-to-back combo of "Uno De Tus Ojos" + "Ciudad Desnuda", one of the most poignant and emotionally resonant stretches of music you'll hear this year regardless of whether you're fluent in Usbeck's "mother tongue". Bask in the record's warm, calming glow below, and pick up the beautifully packaged 12", out this Friday on Cascine: