Next month Miami, Florida outfit Las Nubes will release their new album Tormentas Malsanas (which translates as ‘unhealthy storms’). What we described in a preview as an album which “channels the unpredictability and fury of its meteorological title to produce an electrically charged sound.” Ale Campos (guitar/vocals) and Emile Milgrim (drums/janitorial) are joined by Alumine Soto (guitar) and Cuci Amador (bass) to bring this to life, taking the oppressive volatility of Miami summers and weaving a weighty, brooding brand of punk rock. One in which danger and fondness coexist. “Tormentas Malsanas is a culmination of personal experiences I had first-hand or felt second-hand through the lives of my close friends and relatives over the span of five years,” as Campos explains:
The feelings brought on by these experiences were charged, sometimes stagnant and unforgiving, much like the summers here in South Florida. When it comes to expressing these personal narratives I always felt that articulating them through the lens of nature was something that anyone could feel a connection to. A lot of these songs were written at a time when it felt like the world was going to end, which also presents a feeling of longing to return to something ‘normal’.
Spinning out of experiences in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder and the high profile protests which followed, latest single ‘Pesada’ deals with the ways in which activism can be co-opted and exploited. “‘Pesada’ is about performative activism and the convenience of sitting at home and clicking ‘add to story,’ Campos continues, “how the delusion created by attention makes you think you’re absolved from being labelled as a bad character.” The sound is as tumultuous and hefty as you might expect for such a subject, taking no prisoners with its crushing weight.
