Natalia Lafourcade - Hasta la Raíz [Edición Especial] (2015)

When Mexican singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade launched her eponymous first album at the age of 19 in 2003, it hardly seemed like the sort of contender to top the charts. For one, Lafourcade was not the typical Latin pop tart, decked out in high heels and cleavage-enhancing ensembles.

Instead, she rocked bug-eyed sunglasses, black nail polish and ironic pink frills in the video for her hit single “En el 2000” (“In the Year 2000”). Her sound was experimental — fusing acoustic guitars with everything from jazz to pop to bossa nova. And her lyrics had bite, poking fun at girls who like Ricky Martin and stating that she looked for “an intelligent brain that doesn’t get drunk on Fridays.”

Now the singer, 32, is back with her sixth studio album Hasta la Raíz (“To the Root”), her most introspective work yet.

As the title implies, Lafourcade’s new album is about going back to her roots.

“It was about being very connected to Mexico, to my origins,” she explains. “I wanted to connect with Latin America. The album really is made up of two parts: One of them is the very blue sound — it’s super melancholic. And there’s this other part about connecting with Mexico and the Mexican public.”

This doesn’t mean that the new album is filled with wailing trumpets and frantic Spanish guitar riffs. LaFourcade is too subtle a musician to just mimic tradition. Instead, it’s more about channeling a mood while fusing a variety of disparate musical styles with her pixie-ish vocals. (The singer is frequently compared to musicians such as PJ Harvey and Björk.)

“Nunca Es Suficiente,” (“It Is Never Enough”) one of the album’s breakout songs, with its bouncy bass line, chronicles a relationship in which one partner remains committed while the other has one foot out the door. “Lo Que Construimos” (“What We Built”), which leans more into torch song territory, has lyrics that tell a story of resignation and acceptance: “What we built has ended / The wind has taken it.”

As always, the music pays homage to Lafourcade’s varied influences, which range from Latin American political folk of the ’70s (present in the song “Vámonos Negrito”) to straight up indie rock (“No Más Llorar”).

Tracklist:
1. Hasta la Raíz
2. Mi Lugar Favorito
3. Antes de Huir
4. Ya No Te Puedo Querer
5. Para Qué Sufrir
6. Nunca Es Suficiente
7. Palomas Blancas
8. Te Quiero Ver
9. Vámonos Negrito
10. Lo Que Construimos
11. Estoy Lista
12. No Más Llorar

Edición Especial:
13. Partir de Mí
14. Duele
15. Me Voy de Casa
16. Lo Que Construimos (Versión Reggae)
17. Hasta la Raíz (Canova's Root Version)