A particularly prescient song given recent events, “Cinnamon” was initially inspired by the ongoing treatment of asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. Sung through a distorted megaphone, CAMINA’s haunting vocals blend together lyrical elements of African-American spirituals (“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen”), the rallying cry of grassroots activism (“Si se puede” or “Yes we can”), and feelings of helplessness for the future (“We will rise above, but the damage is done”). A marimba-infused trip hop beat introduces the album’s Latin musical influences.

Te Quiero Mucho

Cinnamon

Drawing from pop culture and CAMINA’s own upbringing, “Fly Away” is about a childlike yearning to escape a desperate situation. The lyrics reference a scene in the movie Forrest Gump during which a young Jenny implores, “Dear God make me a bird so I can fly far. Far, far away.” They also address the dismay that comes with the realization of religion’s inability to provide salvation, acknowledging the strength required for a person to devise their own means of escape.

Fly Away

Channeling the vocal stylings of Whitney Houston and the breathy, heart-on-your-sleeve sounds of George Michael, “Forever and Always” is a contemporary take on the classic power ballad. A crackling funerary organ wafts beneath lyrics that plead for the departed (“Believe me when I say I miss you forever and always”) to understand how much they meant and how much they will be missed.

Forever And Always

An antidote to the heartfelt emotion of “Forever and Always,” “Burn for Eternity” is a quirky, tongue-in-cheek spin on a torch song. With cartoonish vocals reminiscent of sexpot Betty Boop, the lyrics playfully implore a lover to enter into a relationship destined to crash and burn. And why not? Great romances aren’t pretty, chaste, or safe. Hell will be the better party anyway.

Burn For Eternity

“Malagueña” circles back to the opening track, serving as a transition between the album’s more autobiographical pop songs and ones with a direct Spanish influence. The lyrics are taken from a classic song titled, “El Sol Que Tu Eres” (“The Sun That You Are”), which detail the plight of migrant farm workers laboring under the sun.

Maleguena

Sung in Spanish, “Su Puede” closes the album with a rumination on life’s open-endedness, and the tragedy of always wondering what might have been. CAMINA’s three-part harmony and operatic vocals overlay a trio of bolero singers lamenting an unrequited love, declaring that only death can end such desire (“Ay porque un amor que se quiere, ay solo con la tumba muere/ “Oh because a love that you desire, can only die in the grave”).

CAMÍNA

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