The tender melodies, sophisticated arrangements, and enamored lyrics that Roy Borland immortalizes in La Chica del Norte hadn’t occupied such a privileged corner of Spanish pop since classics like A Breath in the Heart. Just as Family’s essential work once did, La Chica del Norte now sounds like a cult classic. That said, Borland asks the listener for a minimum of attention and stillness. “Isn’t it a miracle?”
Roy enjoys donning the mantle of an timeless, misunderstood troubadour in his solo work, but his craftsmanship runs through everything from top to bottom of records that sit close to the mainstream, such as ‘El Dilema del Rapero Blanco’, ‘Tristán, Ahora Con Reloj’, ‘Demian’, or Judeline’s ‘VERANO SAUDADE’. In all of these, with his hip hop, hypnagogic pop, folk and urban fusion, Borland acts mainly as songwriter, producer and recording engineer, unless he lends his voice as a choir.
The Madrid-born artist is well acquainted with the world of pop, but while he handles nearly every instrument on his album, he chooses to distance himself completely from anything sounding remotely similar to today’s pop. At least, from what pop currently sounds like. His previous project, the grand ‘Considérame’, shared this philosophy and rendered the existential angst it produced in ‘Soldados Subacuáticos’: “He who lives off music no longer has the soul of a musician,” he sang. In ‘La Chica del Norte’, Roy is in better spirits.
The album defines itself in the bucolic ‘Intro’: it’s what happens “when girls and boys fall in love.” With a through-line of richly lush arrangements rooted in folk rock, soul, doo-wop and jazz, Borland offers a collection of songs with a heart that feels classic, capable of recalling both Serrat and The Beatles, delivered with timeless execution. The sunny, relaxed tone of ‘Ruth’ and ‘La Chica del Norte’, both the closest things to a hit on the whole tracklist, lay the groundwork for the entire LP.
If these tracks yield to the innocence of 70s feel-good soul, ‘Conocerte Me Cambió La Vida’ begins by nodding to the neoclassicism of ‘Pet Sounds’ and ends up being a grand tour through the dominant styles of the 60s, without skimping on instruments. While ‘Ayer Soñé Contigo’ may be more explicit in its references, the jazz facet of the catchy ‘Cada Cual Con Su Amor’ and the R&B grandeur of ‘Aquel Bello Desliz’ justify the LP as an exercise in nostalgia, but also in recovery and updating of classic pop.
Roy Borland sings about the spark at the start («Everything reminds me of Ruth»), the clashes («Yesterday afternoon I began to understand that love is complex and fleeting / And being who I am I see that I am not capable»), the passion («That day we were one / Over and over») and the end of a relationship with an overwhelming sensitivity. He treats the last theme in the beautiful and painful ‘Altamar’, the best acoustic piece on the record: «And from the garden comes the scent of petrichor / And after months of heat / I zipped up my raincoat».
Despite the great variety of instruments and details, ‘La Chica del Norte’ brushes against minimalism. Borland accompanies his baroque compositions with a voice that is half-whispered, as if recorded in the corner of a vast empty room with a slight fear of being discovered. This, combined with the innumerable chord changes, makes the listening not immediately accessible and it grows considerably with each playback, each one better than the last. It’s an album that must be chewed on, but the flavor is entirely worth it. Isn’t it a miracle to feel challenged?
