NEW ALBUM: CAMILA CABELLO | FAMILIA

She’s back and better than ever as Camila Cabello officially releases her third studio album "Familia," the Spanish word for family. The Latin pop singer has already released two singles, "Don’t Go Yet" and "Bam Bam," a salsa-flecked duet with Ed Sheeran. The Havana-born, Miami-raised singer has leaned into her Cuban-Mexican roots on the album. Two songs on the album, including "Celia," which features her eight-year-old cousin Caro on backing vocals, are sung entirely in Spanish. "No Doubt" and "La Buena Vida" shadow their anguished English lyrics with balmy Latin rhythms. Cabello said once that she’s “the most emo person ever,” and she backs this up with new songs exploring anxiety ("Quiet"), the loneliness of a long-distance relationship ("La Buena Vida") and seething sexual jealousy ("No Doubt"). But it picks up with "Don’t Go Yet," which boasts an anthemic chanted chorus that recalls the Queen of Latin Pop, Gloria Estefan. The title of "Hasta los dientes" loosely translates as "Armed to the Teeth,” but its music offers a slinky spin on Dua Lipa‘s nu-disco sound. On "Psychofreak," a chart-bound collaboration with Willow, proves it’s still possible to write an innovative and original song about mental health in 2022. Cabello even attempts a socially conscious character study about a marginalized young woman from the country where she was born on "Lola," a folky ballad that features Cuban singer Yotuel. The lyrics may lack the pin-sharp specificity of other songs here, but it’s tender and affecting nonetheless. By digging deeper into her heritage and psyche, Cabello has created her richest and most compelling album.