Malena Zavala 'Aliso' LP

Aliso is the debut album from Malena Zavala. Containing the acclaimed 2017 singles Should I Try and If It Goes plus new single Could You Stay, Aliso was entirely written, played and produced by Zavala. Its ten tracks owe a debt to Beach House, Brian Eno, Tame Impala, Cuban folk musician Silvio Rodriguez and an addictive Argentinean tea called Yerba Mate that fuelled its recording. When Zavala sings, time seems to stand still. Her haunting voice is hypnotic, her sensual songs are as much about capturing emotions as they are about telling tales. Born in northern Argentina, Malena was brought up in Britain from the age of three thanks to her family’s Italian passports and an Argentinean economy in crisis. For Aliso she drew inspiration from the women in her family; from the strong Latino character of her Mother honoured in If It Goes, to her maverick Grandmother who in particular encouraged her free-thinking approach.

The beauty of Aliso - and the reason it sounds like no other album - is because its songs were recorded as they were written, with no boundaries, no set destination, and no rules in place to break. Could You Stay is a perfect distillation of this approach. Vocally and sonically it’s pitched between Kevin Parker and Victoria Legrand, but in its bluesy guitar playing and Latin style drums we hear an artist who’s already carved a niche for herself. It’s a song about falling in love with a friend and not telling them, Zavala’s voice capturing the bittersweet sensation like a film camera captures light.