I’ve been a fan of Alex Cuba’s music since 2006, when my admiration for Jason Mraz’s music led me by delightful chance to Alex’s world. I’ve followed his career since then and have watched with pleasure as he explored new frontiers and was rewarded by the industry as well as his fans. Being well-versed in his musical career, I can say that his 6th studio album Lo Único Constante (The Only Constant) is a bit of a misnomer: in this album there are many constants: Alex’s insightful lyrics and his pervasive sense of faith, his steadfast optimism and his pioneer spirit, and his skillful musical arrangement accompanied by his decadent voice.
But really, “Lo Único Constante,” as Spanish-speakers will recognize, is a truncation of a longer quote – “lo único constante es el cambio” – the only constant is change. I think this title is meant to hint to this truth but also to pay respect to that in life (both objectively and his own, subjectively) which has remained unchanged.
In the liner notes of the booklet, Alex prefaces the lyrics of each song with his own explanation, offering you a glimpse into the thoughtfulness that went behind the writing of each song.
The album takes a back-to-basics approach, straying from the electric, opting instead for orchestral string arrangements on several songs. One song gets stripped all the way down to acapella – a first for Alex on record: the beautiful “Piedad de Mi.” This is a percussive album, listing six different instruments in the family, not including the acapella “percussion”. Alex has shown his love for drums in previous albums – Aqua del Pozo devoted a song to one instrument / drummer in “Y Que Bongo,” and this time around, Alex shares his preference for the “Chekere,” an instrument of West African origin consisting of a hollow gourd surrounded by a mesh of beads which are manipulated to produce their sounds. They are similar to but distinct from and more flexible than maracas in the sounds they make.
Alex includes an English-language track on this album – the fourth time in a row he’s sung at least one track in English on an album. “Look What You Started” is the only song on Lo Único Constante not written entirely by Alex, as opposed to his largely collaborative previous album, Healer. Language barriers have never been a problem with Alex’s songs, however. He weaves emotion into them all that mirror the lyrics, punctuating them in a way that the meaning of the song is apparent regardless of what language you speak. The flamenco guitars on Lagrimas Del Que Llora (Tears of the One Who Cries) describe the sadness that Alex declares we need to abandon in this hopeful final note.
You can also check out another first for Alex Cuba – Alex translates his “Todas Las Cabezas Estan Locas” to French – “Dans La Folie De L'amour” – and sings it for the single.
Lo Único Constante is available from:
Alex Cuba's Official Website
Amazon
iTunes
Listen to Alex Cuba on Spotify and Pandora.
Follow Alex Cuba on:
YouTube Channel
iamalexcuba on Snapchat
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