August 11, 2024 at PDT
El Show Debe Continuar
“I felt stuck for a long time because I was hyper-focused on the types of songs and genres I wanted to explore,” Santiago Casillas, leader of Mexico City quintet Little Jesus, tells Apple Music. “So, I let myself spill out everything that was in my head, and the process turned out to be therapeutic.” After a trilogy of albums that left their mark on Latin American indie, the band needed to reinvent itself. “Being genre pioneers can feel a bit lonely, but it can also be fun.”
Five years after Little Jesus’ last album, El Show Debe Continuar embarks on a renewed quest for spontaneity across 12 tracks. Recorded at Sonic Ranch in Texas and the band members’ home studios, the album’s main objective was “to push this whim to its very limit,” utilizing extravagant instruments such as a grand piano or saxophone. Here, Santiago dissects the new album, track by track.
“Tierra Llamando a Sant”
“I imagined this as the continuation of ‘TQM.’ The unfinished final riff stayed in Río Salvaje and inhabits that multiverse, but from a different perspective. The lyrics are connected to the moon, when I say at the end ‘the Earth is talking to me’ [‘la tierra me está hablando’]. We recorded it at Greenpoint in New York, but the drums, guitars, and synths were done at my home studio. It was the first song we did for this album, and we knew right away it was going to be the opening track.”
“T. N. S. A.”
“This was done at a studio I shared with a friend. Honestly, I was hesitant at first, because it sprouted when we were testing some new microphones. Truco [Manolo Sánchez] recorded a beat, I did a loop and added effects and compression. I liked that it sounded so close to hip-hop. Then I taped the rest of the music at home, without even thinking that it was going to be part of an album. It reminds me of the ’90s, something like Beck. ‘T. N. S. A.’ is an acronym for ‘tú no sabes amar’ [‘you don’t know how to love’], a phrase that popped in my head. I liked the visual effect of those letters put together.”
“Una Playa En Nayarit”
“I came up with these chords as a bit of a joke, because I wanted to write a country tune—or more like traditional folk in the vein of Bright Eyes around 2004. When we booked time at Sonic Ranch in Texas, Pony [Fernando Bueno], Truco, and I started recording the first things that came to mind, and I remembered those chords. We were just jamming and recorded the song in 10 minutes. I wanted the lyrics to talk about a long-lost love, the kind of romance that keeps you wondering about everything that could have been.”
“Quiero Más/Será Mejor”
“I had the first half of this song, but the rest was a mystery. I recorded the beginning thinking of Big Star, one of my favorite bands. I got into character, imagining that I was a member of the group—that’s why I’m singing in English. I had no idea what was going to happen in the second half, so I told Pony to do whatever he wanted. We decided that the second half should sound like Duster, a cross between emo and lo-fi. I recorded every single instrument on the first half, and he did the same on the second half. We took the joke to its very limit.”
“Fuego Fuego Fuego Fuego”
“We wanted this to sound like the theme for a soccer video game, like FIFA. We were also going for something like the soundtrack to a movie like The Great Beauty by Paolo Sorrentino, from the point of view of a veteran Italian guy sitting by the beach, reflecting on an old love. The song focuses on that character. What was really cool was that we assembled a hybrid drum kit with some Simmons tom-toms from the ’80s, like the ones that Soda Stereo used. The bass drum and cymbals are real. If you pay attention to the drums, you will hear it.”
“Pase A La Red”
“This is one of my favorite tracks right now. Everyone had fun playing it. There are some hints of soul, but we gave it a contemporary spin with a loud drum kit and a bizarre bridge, with an arpeggiator and distorted vocals. You could say this one’s a song in the widest sense of the word. You can play it on the guitar or piano. It has those weird chords in the bridge and a guitar solo, too.”
“Misterio, Cigarros y Menta”
“Truco, Pony, and I had the Sonic Ranch studio to ourselves and decided to improvise a rock song in a single take. I even have a video of that first attempt. The sound engineer helped us with the sound that we were looking for, like an old punk band. It lasted only a minute, and we added an ambient outro to it. Then I met Ivana and loved her vibe. I explained what I had in mind, and she came up with some amazing verses.”
“No Existe La Realidad”
“Another track that emerged out of nowhere at the old studio—just jamming with the drummer. It was during the soccer World Cup in Qatar. Portugal was playing, and we watched the game as we recorded the demo. The initial title was ‘Siu’ because of Cristiano Ronaldo, and it stayed for a long while. On the verses, we channeled a character straight out of Arctic Monkeys, the kind of imbecile who tries to chat up a girl at the bar. The chorus has more of a Little Jesus vibe.”
“La Historia Sin Fin”
“It’s the same character from ‘Fuego Fuego Fuego Fuego’—the retired Italian at the beach—but in this case, he’s telling a story. Across the street from my place in Mexico City, there’s a homeless guy with his dog. I love the relationship that they share—they don’t judge each other, and they face the world together. That’s the narrative in this song: the relationship between the street dog and that guy.”
“El Show Debe Continuar”
“This was the only track where the entire band was together in the studio at the same time, like an ’80s group. It’s long and ambitious; it has solos and a CP-70 keyboard. I liked the melody but didn’t know what to do with the lyrics. Then I met Mateo [Sujatovich] of Conociendo Rusia, who appeared out of the blue and came to my house. We got along well, and I showed him the instrumental. It was a perfect match, because the song reminded me of Charly Garcia—it had an Argentine sensibility. Obviously, that’s the song that we did together. We spent a couple of hours playing around with the lyrics and recorded the following day—it was that fast.”
“Con C De Casa”
“Here, I remembered the music that I listened to when I was going to school. I hadn’t connected with playing the acoustic guitar like that in a long time, so pretty and arpeggiated. It happened quickly. I liked the challenge of writing the kind of song that you come up with when you’re learning to play. It was the last track we recorded for the album. I had spent a long time locked up at home, so I found inspiration in everything that my space has given me for this record and life in general.”
“El Final Del Juego”
“This is another favorite of mine. We held it back for a long time because I felt it needed a different section. Then I decided against it, and now I really like it. I couldn’t come to terms with the chorus, but later I realized it could be all about the guitar. It’s a highly visual song. It’s built on few elements, but all the instruments join in during an extended climax—sort of like the actors returning onstage after the play is over. There’s a soft drum kit, then the bass and guitar. I decided to add flute and sax. The end sounds like a video game, when you complete a level and move on to the next realm.”
12 Tracks
