Adrian Quesada - Boleros Psicodélicos II [Yellow]

Adrian Quesada's Boleros Psicodélicos II pours another round of candlelit Latin psych, pressed on yellow vinyl for anyone who wore out the first volume.

Quesada grew up on the border in Laredo, Texas, and spent years at the heart of Austin's scene with Grupo Fantasma before co-founding Black Pumas. His first Boleros Psicodélicos set drew on the psychedelic ballads of Latin America in the sixties and seventies, mixing classic balada spirit with his own songs. This 2025 sequel keeps the concept and widens the guest list, handing the microphone to a new cast of voices from across the Spanish-speaking world.

Cuco floats through "Ojos Secos" with dreamy cool, and iLe returns for "Bravo," her voice full of smoky drama. Hermanos Gutiérrez bring their twin-guitar shimmer to "Primos," while Daymé Arocena closes things on "No Temeré" with a performance that feels both tender and unafraid. Around them, Quesada builds a lush world of tremolo guitar, swelling strings, gentle organ and slow-dance rhythms that sound like they were recorded in a velvet-lined room.

It is romantic music with a heavy-lidded, hallucinatory edge, made for slow dances and long nights.

Put it on late, dim the lights and let these boleros do what boleros have always done best: make heartbreak sound gorgeous.