Be it known, not all anti-establishment music acts must be rage-infused bands of young men, anthems highlighting their discontent in harsh guitar tones and growling vocals. Providence’s Malportado Kids provide enough social awareness and historical consciousness in their new single, “Bruja Cosmica”, to cover the span of ten “more traditional” punk songs, and yet it’s an incredibly danceable electronic track. Appropriate considering the due consists of the Downtown Boys social warriors Victoria Ruiz and Joey de Francesco. The title, which literally translates to “cosmic witches,” refers to an audience who are being summoned to lash out against imperialism and tyranny, using metaphorical magic, symbolizing the pilot-light within all of us. All it needs is for the gas to be left on before it explodes.
From their upcoming Total Cultura 10-inch LP, “Bruja Cosmica” is at heart a tropical dance number with infectious synthetic hooks atop fun beats, but like a Cumbia Le Tigre, its cadence of vocal shouts, in all the more effectual Spanish, provide a weight that causes a re-assessment, both of the song, and the self. They are calling attention to issues long swept under the rug, regarding who is living on whose land, and the means with which they got to be doing so—a theme that plays throughout the entirety of Total Cultura. The fact that it’s purveyed via a poppy dance beat only adds to the weight and complexity of the message, and further throws convention out the window.
Total Cultura will be released June 2 on a white vinyl 10-inch via Dead Labour. You can stream “Bruja Cosmicas” below.
