It's been just over a week shy of five years since Lido Pimienta released her Grammy-nominated third studio album Miss Colombia — which Exclaim! named one of the best albums of the 2020s so far — on April 17, 2020. The Colombian-Canadian artist has, at long last, announced its follow-up, previewed today by lead single "Mango."
Produced alongside Owen Pallett, La Belleza arrives May 16 via ANTI-. Inspired by the Luboš Fišer-composed soundtrack to the film Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, it sees Pimienta experiment with classical music.
"La Belleza means The Beauty in Spanish, and I held on to that word fiercely — it carries so much meaning but so much emotional weight," she said of the writing process that began after her Miss Colombia tour was cancelled at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Mainstream beauty has damaged my self-esteem, colourism has poisoned my people, and fatphobia refuses to go away. La Belleza was watching nature regenerate itself when we weren't consuming as much. La Belleza was able to see and live near family again, realizing how much we had taken for granted, how fragile life was, how quickly it could be taken by a virus."
Of the single, Pimienta added:
"Mango" took me back to my territory, to nature, to my people, to my village, where I watched love unfold all around me. I've always had an aversion to writing love songs — especially if they're about a man (insert barfing sound). But at the time, my love life was in a nebulous state: unrequited love, love from the past, love in the present — it was all I could think about. I resolved the hetero issue by keeping my love songs genderless. The sensuality is in the innuendo, in the nuance. I'm very proud of this song.
Listen to the delicately stirring, harp-led "Mango" below, where you'll also find the album tracklist information.
La Belleza:
1. Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna)
2. Ahora
3. Quiero Que Me Beses
4. Mango
5. Aún Te Quiero
6. El Dembow del Tiempo
7. ¿Quién Tiene La Luz? El Perdón.
8. Tengo Que Ir
9. Busca La Luz