Song review: Como Las Movies and Sabrina Ellis join forces for La 6, release party November 3

Ahead of the group’s planned November release of the new album by Austin’s Como Las Movies, the band has released its first single, “La 6.” The song was the result of a collaboration with A Giant Dog lead vocalist and songwriter, Sabrina Ellis who previously performed with CLM at the Austin Music Awards (AMAs) earlier this year. On Friday, November 3 the band featuring Nelson Valente Aguilar will appear at Waterloo Records to celebrate the new album which will initially only be available on vinyl via Try Hard Coffee Records and Spaceflight Records. The Waterloo party starts at 5 p.m. and will include a live performance followed by a record signing of Como Las Movies’ new album, Como Las Singles inside the celebrated Austin independent vinyl shop.

The pairing of Ellis and Aguilar at the AMAs prompted an invitation from the Como Las Movies founder to Ellis to the  to record on the current record. According to the the band, “Shortly into the recording sessions, Aguilar discovered not only were they birthday twins, but their families came from the same area in Monterrey. Coincidence led to true collaboration on the lead-off single “La 6,” with Aguilar and Ellis co-writing and workshopping the song together, displaying a dynamic convergence of voices, approaches, and genres.”  After playing the song several times we’d hardly beg to differ. While it was obvious there was magic on stage when Aguilar and Ellis performed his song, “Cafe” at Mohawk last March, we couldn’t have imagined that they’d discover the pair has family from the same Monterrey town in Northern Mexico or that Ellis has a penchant for singing in the Spanish they learned from their grandmother in Mexico.

The song “La 6” begins with spacey sounding keys then Aguilar’s voice joins the music, singing in Spanish until Ellis picks up the next verse, expanding their voice into a passionate delivery of Spanish phrases with their familiar mix of traditional Latin styles with an indie rock undertone while the band continues gaining in intensity as the song continues. The pair trade verses, then join together to sing the chorus with Ellis adding vocal emphasis in between phrases that escalates into a frenzy of music that had us imagining Ellis performing the crazy stage antics they’re known for as the song finishes. For a track that begins innocently enough, it finishes by leaving the listener breathless and wanting more. Aguilar commented, “I feel that both our writing styles tend to favor the melodramatic aesthetic.” That is an understatement to say the least.

Fans can order the limited edition vinyl directly from Try Hard Records and grab this gorgeous mustard yellow wax before they’re all gone.

Not only did Ellis and Aguilar discover they share family heritage in Monterrey but they also share the same birthday. Perhaps the pairing was cosmically aligned? We like to think so. Perhaps it was inevitable the unlikely pairing of a glam punk front woman and a cinematic Latin rocker who fronts a Cumbia and rock fusion act would team up too? Maybe it was always written in the stars? We’ll never know for sure but it seems entirely possible given the magic the two create together.

Como Las Movies has had quite a run since Aguilar decided to take up vocal duties himself after years of using various singers in his band. The group performed at Austin City Limits Music Festival last year, played the AMAs, was a KUTX Artist of the Month, then won a nomination as a Sonic Guild artist for 2023. Sonic Guild, formerly known as Black Fret awards artists with funds to make a new record via its member fees and donations from the community.

Como Las Movies are working on video for their second single  “Am I Cumbia, Yes I Am?” for release in late November to be directed by the outfit’s guitar player Alex Camet. If it’s like previous CLM videos, we’re sure we’ll love it as much as the others they’ve put out.

Other upcoming performances are slated for the band including, Dia on Dia tomorrow (Nov 1) at 3TEN at ACL Live presented by KUTX, EQ Austin and Loneestar Easterseals, Friday’s performance at Waterloo and The Other Ones Foundation’s, Been There 2 Festival on November 11 at Camp Esperanza.

Como Las Singles track listing: