Lealani, Eddie Palmieri & Empress Of
December 15, 2021 • Issue #2
Your selection of three curated songs is back for week two. This round’s offerings range from other-worldly art-pop to old school Latin jazz.
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The Snack Break
“Miniscule” by Lealani
A straight up face-melter from the alien mind of Lealani. —Akil
Apple Music • Spotify • YouTube
"Vámonos pa'l Monte” by Eddie Palmieri
With each decided stroke of the intro’s electric keyboard, this titular track off of Latin jazz legend Eddie Palmieri’s masterful 1971 album invites us to escape to the mountains. The imperative is an expression of both reverie and political turmoil: In light of the hardships that faced Palmieri’s own Boricua community in New York, as well as the rural guerrilla upheavals that occurred across the Caribbean and Latin America in the decade following the Cuban Revolution, the mountains figure both as a debaucherous reprieve from exploitative political regimes, as well as a battlefield on which to subvert them. The band layers in the baritone saxophone and congas, driving the tempo towards a climax that echoes the explosive liberation the mountains promise. —Miriam
Apple Music • Spotify • YouTube
“Kitty Kat” by Empress Of
After being cat-called on her way home, Lorely Rodriguez — stage name Empress Of — wrote “Kitty Kat”, a blistering response to street harassment that leaves nothing but ruin in its wake. The sweet retaliation begins with headbanging cymbals smashing into synth and guitar, moving to Rodriguez’s vocals bathed in arpeggiated synths, “let me walk away”. Finding its power somewhere between plea and command, the song places its rotten subject in a casket, and closes the lid. —Moiz