10 track album
I’ve been following Guyaba online for several years, but I never got around to listening to their music... shame on me. I made time to listen to this album and fully expected a weird, dark, and lofi rap album but this is so much more and so not lofi. Guyaba explores bossa nova through horrorcore and a psychedelic filter with super tight production. This album has a dark atmosphere, catchy and haunting melodies, beautiful vocal harmonies, and an eclectic instrumentation. Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro), Mariposa Mala, and Sanguijuela are songs where Guyaba raps and sings in equally excellent quality about the intersections of being a queer fat afrolatina weirdo within the context of horror, both real and “film” type, and existentialism. And Thus, I Remain Crepuscular..., Guyaba imitates the sounds of nature with haunting music that would fit perfectly in any horror movie ending the track with intense metal vocals.
I feel entirely unequipped to do this album justice with words. I hear something new with each listen, the music is dense, but not too thick that anything is lost in the mix. It’s beautiful and dark, it’s grounded in common genres but takes them to experimental territory.