Naturaleza [LP]

Maria Usbeck's latest album Naturaleza is a bold new chapter for the always shape-shifting Ecuadorian singer-songwriter, diving deep into her singular realm of idiosyncratic pop music while retaining the observational, inquisitorial perspective that's marked her work thus far. Usbeck's third album for the Cascine label follows the striking debut Amparo from 2016 (which featured co-production credits from Caroline Polachek) and 2019's expansive, exploratory Envejeciendo, which found Usbeck stretching her legs into the warm glow of 1980s electronic music and the spacious grooves of city pop. Since that album, she's also released the one-off single "Hollow," which draped her entrancing vocals in a futuristic sheen amidst starry-eyed synths and the frissons of dialup technology.