Since her 2017 hit, ‘Havana’, it feels like Camila Cabello has been trying to find her own space in the crowded world of female pop stars. Although her first two albums had high points, Cabello stayed too close to the painting-by-numbers pop that defined Fifth Harmony, the group where she began her career. With her third album, Familia, Cabello returns to her Cuban-American roots. This is a raw multicultural collection of tunes, as she starts to define herself.
Familia opens with the refrains of a solo trumpet; we are transported to Cuba or Mexico, where the Miami-based singer spent much of her childhood. Immediately, Cabello bursts into ‘Celia’ a hip-swaying sensual Cuban influenced track sung entirely in Spanish. While the song talks of a lover, the Latin rhythms feel like Cabello’s is inviting us into her world. With her cousin Caro on backing vocals, this really is a family affair. To give us no doubts, the singer proudly ends the track by declaring “Soy de Cuba.”
This opener starts to give us a sense of the album with its Latin music undertone. Cabello sprinkles Spanish phrases across a number of the twelve tracks. However, we only get one more Spanish language track, the retro-disco influenced ‘Hasta Los Dientes.’ It may reference self-doubt but is a confident belter of a track. Not only is it one of the highlights of the album but of the singer’s career to date.
The Latin influences permeate a number of the tracks. Those that do tend to be the strongest on the album. On ‘La Buena Vida’, the singer treats us to a pounding beats of a Spanish guitar and the soaring mariachi strings. The song spins with colour and rhythm as Cabello punches out emotive vocals bemoaning the struggles of a long-distance relationship. With the male backing vocals and complex rhythms, it is easy to visualise the song as a big musical number, against the backdrop of a Mexican marketplace.
The Cuban party rhythm is present on the lead single, ‘Don’t Go Yet.’ With a heavy Latin beat and multi-layered backing, this is a track that drips with the aroma of tequila; we are transported to the crowded space of a Havana club. Cabello shows she has lost none of her skill in translating the atmosphere of her Cuban roots to an English language track. This is one track that evokes memories of Gloria Estefan’s ‘Rhythm Is Gonna Get You’.
One of the strengths of Familia is that it isn’t a Gloria Estefan pastiche. As we leave the sweat-soaked dance floors of ‘Hasta Los Dientes’ and ‘Don’t go Yet’, Cabello treats us to the sensual smokey ambience of ‘Lola’. The track feels like a Latin-Jazz fusion. Featuring Cuban singer YoTuel, ‘Lola’ showcases Cabello’s maturing writing skills. The story is of a bright Havana girl failing to achieve her dreams: “Nobody breaks the ceiling//Nobody where she’s from.”
‘No Doubt’ is another track that takes a Cubanesque heavy repeating baseline to underpin a personal track touching on Cabello’s mental health demons. Dark paranoia and jealousy are present; lyrics that include “Seeing red flags that don’t even exist//And that’s the head I’m in.”
Cabello powerfully explores the theme of mental health on ‘psychofreak’ which features additional vocals from Willow. With a recurring vocal beat that echoes Suzanne Vega’s ‘Tom’s Diner’, the track feels like an anguished cry for help. The confusion of anxiety and the numbness of depression and dissociation are all here. We also get a reference that points back to Cabello’s exit from Fifth Harmony— “I been on this ride since I was fifteen//I don’t blame the girls for how it went down, down” As we try to exit the lingering impact of the Covid pandemic, and now face the daily images of war, this is a brave and relevant track about mental illness.
Tracks never stray too far from the Cuban core but Cabello is careful to show some versatility. The aforementioned ‘psychofreak’ is one as is the beautiful final track ‘everyone at this party’. Cabello has already shown she can do vulnerable ballads on ‘Consequences’ from Cabello and this is evident again here. ‘Everyone at this party’ is a simple stripped back acoustic track about heartbreak. It demonstrates that Cabello’s music is not just big brash Latin party numbers but can be raw and introspective and personal.
There are a couple of filler tracks; ‘Quiet’ and ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ which seem out of place amongst the Latin heart of the album or against the more raw introspective tracks. However, these don’t detract from a solid third album
Familia showcases more of Camila Cabello and, more importantly, marks her out against her peers. With Dua Lipa associated with disco, Phoebe Bridgers occupying the indie-folk space, Billie Eilish focused within the realms of melancholy-pop and Ariana Grande the queen of R&B, Cabello needs to find her unique selling point in a crowded market. The singer has, convincingly, demonstrated that she can uniquely blend the musical influences of her roots into accessible bangers. She has also given us glimpses of the raw personal talent of her blossoming songwriting ability. Like any family, Familia has its ups and downs. But, Familia feels welcoming and fun—signalling the start of something that will grow.
Words by Andrew Butcher
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