7/10

The United States may be a divided and unsettling place for many immigrants at the moment, but you can always count on brave and exciting musicians to use that divisive attitude to create something warm and inviting. Since the release of her breakthrough record 'Medicine For Birds' back in 2016, the Mexican-Salvadoran-American singer and producer Angelica Garcia has been fuelling her love for her homeland through a lens of multinational influences and now returns with her latest effort 'Cha Cha Palace', a record that looks to reflect diverse and eclectic nature of her home country.

The main focus of 'Cha Cha Palace' seems to be for Garcia to present herself as a child of many places, not just biologically but also musically. With a distinct punk attitude throughout everything she produces, this new collection never tries to leave politics and social struggles too far from its view. While it remains a release that looks to celebrate and give thanks to so many elements in her life, there is this core energy that seems to come from a feeling of being unsettled and unable to sit still for too long. And it is that fearless pursuit of explorative intentions that makes this record such a rich and well-rounded affair.

Angelica Garcia has managed to create a wonderfully expansive release that is just as much about herself as it is about those listening to it. The wild genre-bending and unpredictable nature of it only adds to this broad web of focuses that hardly ever look to falter or lose their bite at any point.