Camila Cabello - Familia (2022) {Japanese Limited Edition} CD-Rip

On 2022's Familia, Camila Cabello deftly balances the heartfelt style of her debut with the savvy pop production of 2019's Romance. It's a vibrantly cross-pollinated sound that again finds her drawing upon her Latin American musical roots. Part of the charm of 2018's Camila was just how pared down and personal it felt, while also revealing Cabello's flair for saucy, salsa-styled pop as on the mega-hit "Havana.'' With her warm, throaty vocals and sad-eyed penchant for Pedro Almodovar-esque theatrics, Cabello is more than capable of playing up both the silly and serious aspects of personality -- something she has done regularly since her departure from the pop group Fifth Harmony in 2016. While no less sincere, Romance was a more robust, over-the-top production, marked by a duet with Cabello's then boyfriend Shawn Mendes and with a sound aimed at competing with contemporaries like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande. Working with a small group of producers, including Mike Sabath, Ricky Reed, Cheche Alara, and Edgar Barrera, Cabello smartly splits the difference on Familia, crafting tracks in both Spanish and English that feel organic and genuine to her life experience, but also revel in all of the frothy Latin pop vibes that made past songs like "Havana" and "Liar" so refreshingly fun. To these ends, the lead single "Don't Go Yet" is a giddy pop anthem, propelled by a crisp flamenco guitar and handclap accents that make the song sound like it leaped off the screen of a Robert Rodriguez movie. We also get "Hasta Los Dientes," a reggaeton-disco banger featuring Argentine singer Maria Becerra. There's a handful of equally well-curated guest appearances here with singers whose styles both complement and contrast nicely with Cabello's. Willow Smith teams up with her on the '90s trip-hop-sounding "Psychofreak." Also prominently featured is Ed Sheeran, who duets with Cabello on the infectious "Bam Bam," a surprisingly effective collaboration that takes the British superstar's hooky acoustic pop and injects it with a buoyant salsa groove. Equally engaging is "Celia," where Cabello coos over a dusky, minor-key groove, conjuring the spirit of legendary singer Celia Cruz. Especially potent is "Lola," a hypnotic Latin jazz and R&B ballad in the Sade-fashion featuring Cuban singer/rapper Yotuel. Inspired by the 2018 San Isidro Movement protesting the censorship of artists by the Cuban government, the song finds Cabello imagining her life had her family not emigrated from Cuba to Miami when she was six years old. She sings, "Nobody is dancing so she won't speak, won't speak/All of her dreams are fading slowly." On Familia, Cabello celebrates her family's journey and how it helped bring her musical dreams to life.