Gazapo

Mexico City’s Belafonte Sensacional’s style of folky twee pop came to life in their debut full-length, keeping things bright and melodic but with darker hues in the details. Tracks like “Torreón,” “Familiares ricos,” and “Como Kerouac on the road,” are easy, playful, and tender pop songs with strong hooks and multi-layered instrumentation; however Gazapo showed a fiery side when the volume went up with the frantic bluesy “Valedor,” the angsty and celebratory “Lo hice por el punk,” and the Velvet Underground-meets-Selena coalition of “Beautiful Like Sunshine.” There’s a darkness at the heart of this tender collection of imaginative pop songs.