PHOTO: ALEJANDRO MENÉNDEZ VEGA
MUSIC
EN ESPAÑOL OUT FRIDAY, AUG. 21, VIA MONO MUNDO RECORDINGS
The Mavericks make their Spanish-language debut with En Español BY ABBY LEE HOOD
S
ince they formed in Miami in 1989, The Mavericks have done a great deal. The rocking country outfit toured clubs until they scored a deal with MCA following their first gig at Exit/In. Soon, they moved to Music City, won Grammys and CMA Awards and earned gold and platinum records. They went on a nearly decade-long hiatus that ended with 2013’s In
Time, and they’ve carried on making music on their terms since. One thing The Mavericks haven’t done just yet is release an album in Spanish, a language integral to frontman Raul Malo’s identity. It’s the language of his family, who came to Miami from Cuba in the 1960s, fleeing Fidel Castro’s regime. It’s the language sung in much of the music he loved as a youngster that wasn’t country music. Malo
my daughter explains ‘the gender line,’ “ he says. “My daughter says, ‘Mom, you’ve always been on the female side of the gender line. Now you’re moving to the other side of the gender line.’ That was a really important line in the show.” Much of the rest of Walkin’ Through This World further details his journey from Cindy to Cidny. Bullens says these songs were a departure from his earlier songwriting, which tended away from social commentary and drew more heavily from personal experience. But the personal became the political when Bullens transitioned, and the album finds him turning his powers of observation on himself. “I don’t, as a songwriter, write songs about society,” he explains. “I don’t write songs about cultural change. I don’t write political songs. If you know any of my songs, they’re basically just a moment from my life or how I’m feeling about something, or something I’m observing.” Bullens recorded Walkin’ Through This World with co-producer Ray Kennedy, whom he counts as a close friend and trusted collaborator. Guests on the album include a who’s-who of the music community he fostered while living in Nashville in the 1990s: Rodney Crowell, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Mary Gauthier, Jess Leary and Siobhan Kennedy. Bullens’ daughter, Reid Bullens Crewe, also performs on the album. Bullens and his wife recently bought a home
in East Nashville, moving to town following a brief stint in Santa Fe, N.M. Fortuitously, Bullens actually performed at The Bluebird Cafe the final night the venue was open before closing to the public in March. He cites being in Nashville as a major boon to his creativity, and looks forward to immersing himself more deeply in the local music community when the COVID-19 pandemic passes. “Nashville is my muse,” he says. “I’m respected here — not that I’m not respected anywhere else. People ask me how Nashville is, and I have never had a bad experience here in Nashville, in terms of my career and my music.” While Bullens is uncertain when he’ll be able to perform live shows in support of Walkin’ Through This World, he says he’ll be more than content if even one person finds healing and support in his new songs. He’s a musician, of course, but ultimately sees his work as a greater act of service to his community. “I hope this album is part of my legacy,” he says. “I want it to serve. I want as many people to hear it as need to hear it, and that includes trans people who are having a difficult time. [I want them] to know that there’s an ally, and that there are other people who go through what we go through. If they can identify with the songs, that’s my wish.”
has recorded songs in Spanish for his solo records, but Friday marks The Mavericks’ first Spanish-language release, aptly titled En Español. “In many ways, when you sing in Spanish or in a different language, you can maybe get somebody to think of the world a little differently,” Malo tells the Scene. “We’re seeing a lot of divide and division.” Of En Español’s 12 tracks, seven are standout songs from a wide variety of Latin American cultural traditions from bolero to mariachi, Afro-Cuban and beyond. Malo and the band — co-founder Paul Deakin on drums, longtime keyboardist Jerry Dale McFadden and guitarist Eddie Perez, a rela-
WALKIN’ THROUGH THIS WORLD WILL BE SELF-RELEASED FRIDAY, AUG. 21
PHOTO: TRAVIS COMMEAU
IN TONGUES
tive newcomer who joined in 2003 — infuse the tunes with sounds from their expansive country and rock palette. The album opens with “La Sitiera,” a much-loved Cuban country ballad about heartbreak, presented in an arrangement rich beyond late countrypolitan architect Billy Sherrill’s wildest dreams. It’s followed on the album by “Recuerdos,” or “Memories” in English, co-written by Malo between a late-night performance at the Ryman and a midday recording session. It’s a slow-rocker with brassy trumpets and nimble accordion licks among kinetic, jazzy piano and guitar. Not all of the songs are about pain, but this one continues the theme in devastating fashion, looking back at the memory of a relationship that can’t be saved. Malo sings: “Hoy es el día que he de partir / Nuestros caminos se separarán / Ya nuestra historia llegó a su fin / Bellos recuerdos en mí quedarán.” Or, roughly translated: “Today is the day that I must leave / Our paths will part / Our story has come to an end / Beautiful memories will remain in me.” COVID-19 interrupted The Mavericks’ planned 30th anniversary celebration tour, and it’s forcing them to learn something else new: how to promote a record without touring. That opened up an interesting creative avenue. The band’s Quarantunes series on YouTube began casually, with Malo recording himself on his iPhone playing songs at home, but it evolved into a full-scale occasional music video production. A limited film crew, practicing rigorous health and safety measures, captures the band playing songs like the fan favorite “Back in Your Arms Again” in their practice space. The sessions don’t generate the thrills of a live show, but they do strengthen the group’s feeling that making and sharing music is incredibly important right now. “Music sometimes works as a catalyst for hope and harmony,” says Malo. “With everything that’s going on, it didn’t seem too crazy an idea to release this kind of record.” EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM
EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM CIDNY BULLENS
nashvillescene.com | AUGUST 20 – AUGUST 26, 2020 | NASHVILLE SCENE
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