Familia - Camila Cabello: Review

Camila Cabello

is a Cuban-American pop star who got her start as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony. Since going solo she has maintained a steady presence on the charts often with high profile collaborations. Hits like Havana with Young Thug, My Oh My with DaBaby and Senorita with Shawn Mendes have wracked up streams and kept Camila in the light of popular music.

Review By Lav:

Somehow over the years even though I have never given a Camila project a truly great review, I've somehow become some kind of Camila defender. I think it's because the collective of pop music critics and the critical underground have completely thrown her to the woods and trashed nearly everything she's released. So when I dish out any praise to her music it feels drastic by comparison. I think Camila is a moderately compelling pop artist who makes decent albums, Familia included. If the greater music reviewing community would like to bully me for saying that, so be it. <3

This record had 3 singles and they're a pretty weird bunch. Don't Go Yet is a song I was surprised to see on the record given that it's like 10 months old at this point and the tracklist is already pretty scant. I still like it but don't necessarily love it. The way it erupts into the big group hook is great and it's one of the more instrumentally involved songs on the record. It just feels like such old news at this point. psychofreak is kind of like a pseudo single but it's already become the record's breakout track. If you can ignore bad lyrics then this might be your favorite Camila track ever. It has much more swagger than her average outing and the Willow feature on the hook adds to that even more. I like the eerie instrumental and tight drum loop too. In fact the only thing I don't like is the lyrics, where the bar is set at the absolute bottom of the barrel and Camila still fails to clear it. 

The big single from the record is Bam Bam which honestly for a song that pairs Camila Cabello with Ed Sheeran it could be a lot worse. I like Camila's hook quite a bit and it reminds me of some of the better tracks from her debut album. While Ed still doesn't sound like he belongs on a song like this he does bring a little bit of vocal eccentricity beyond his normal blandness. Amazingly he has more chemistry with Camila than Yotuel who shows up on the forgettable song Lola from the back end of the record. 

The middle of this record does serve as a little bit of a lull, though I can't really say any run of songs establishes much consistency in the first place. Quiet is probably the only song on the record that is a total dud right from the start. It's clearly trying to be one of those breathy, erotic pop songs but Camila can't commit that much to either. The lyrics are very timid and the volume is in constant battle as she never really sings with the reservation that the track deserves. Hasta Los Dientes isn't great either. It has a really cheap sounding club beat which neither artist nor the song itself seems to really match with. When it gets to the hook it sounds like its trying so badly to be Kiss Me More which is even more awkward. The final song I didn't really care for was Boys Don't Cry, a mostly forgettable and very inoffensive song. It does occasionally stand out for the wrong reasons with an otherwise pleasant horn and vocal bridge being occasionally interrupted by some annoying squeaky adlibs. 

There are, however some genuinely enjoyable deep cuts to be found on Familia. La Buena Vida feels a lot like Camila's debut album with the flamenco channeling instrumental and twisting on and off love story. The transitions between verse and chorus can be a little bit awkward as she tries to build up momentum for the admittedly modest hook. It doesn't ruin that hook's impact thankfully and I still think the song is solid. Closing track everyone at the party is the most Taylor Swift sounding song Camila has ever made. She dives into plenty of relationship details that will mean nothing to everyone but the most diehard fans over a gentle acoustic guitar instrumental. It's a decent change of pace moment that is highlighted by being an emotional shift right at the record's finale. 

The two best deep cuts here are Celia and No Doubt. Celia is a simple but quite charming introduction to the record with a modest fusion of latin music and conventional pop. Camila does tend to shine when leaning into her simplified version of this fusion but she gives the song a pop with little details like the "la la la" backing vocals. No Doubt on the other hand might be the most mature song I've ever heard Camila write. Well at least mature in terms of the subject matter involved, not exactly the way she handles them. Still it's the record's most interesting track thematically and that translates into a compelling tune. 

Familia is a Camila Cabello record, duh. But the implication of that is clear. She isn't here to step out of her comfort zone or challenge you and the tracklist won't be conceptual or all that consistent. But just like her last two records I think this one is fine. It won't be anywhere near the best or the worst pop record of the year. But apparently that's a controversial opinion to have for the most hated pop star of the critical underground. 5.5/10

Album Cover Review by Tyler Judson:

This cover is super basic. The composition is nice and the pops of color bring the image forward but it's just not that visually interesting. On a small scale it's a little hard to read that the subjects are even embracing but once realized it gets to be a kind of touching image. I with there was more branding in all of the blank space because it's dying for something to bring it some kind of excitement. 4/10

For more pop check out my review of Rosalia's Motomami here