Tag: Petite Aime Elektro

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Founded back in 2020 by Little Jesus bassist Carlos Medina, the Mexico City-based psych pop act Petite Aime expanded into a full-fledged band when Aline Terrein (vocals), Isabel Dosal (vocals), Santiago Fernández (bass) and Jacobo Velazquez (guitar) joined to write and record last year’s critically applauded self-titled full-length debut.

Drawing from an eclectic array of influences including The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Big Thief, Magic Potion, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Crumb, the self-titled album saw the Mexican psych pop outfit crafting an album’s worth of material that fluctuates between different genes and styles based on psych pop and psych rock. Lyrically and thematically, the album was an expression of the existential angst entered by the speech of the
“self” in an increasingly impersonal world, a world where the line between what’s real and what’s virtual continually blurs.

Building upon a growing profile, the members of Petite Aime released an EP of remixes of album title track “Elektro,” which featured contributions from Okey Dokey, BOYO, and Lucia Tacchetti.

The Mexican psych pop outfit’s newest single “Otra Vez” sees them pushing their sound in a much more experimental direction while preserving the melodic essence that won them international acclaim. Clocking in at a little under 6:30, “the slow-burning Otra Vez” is centered around an expansive song structure that features a lengthy introduction with an atmospheric and glistening synth arpeggios, explosive hi-hat driven rhythms, a sumptuous bass line paired with ethereal harmonies for the verse, a dreamier section with strummed acoustic guitar, followed by a lengthy coda featuring electronic blips and bloops and a funky, motorik groove. The song is an exercise in restraint and subtle repetition. But it’s also a little taste of what to expect from the band’s highly-anticipated sophomore album.

While being simultaneously mesmerizing and trippy, “Otra Vez,” as the band explains is a song that . . . “reminds us how exhausting trying to adjust reality to your exceptions can be. In it, a conversation between two people takes place, or perhaps it is an internal conversation, which has been revisited time and again. Thus, the very structure of the song alludes to that repetitive cycle in which one finds oneself until reaching a breaking point. There is no reason to talk about the same things over and over, if nothing changes and even less if there is no desire to change. The only thing left to do is to accept other people, oneself and the universe as they are.”

Petite Aime will be embarking on a Stateside tour this summer. The tour includes a handful of dates with both Wild Wild Wets and Hooveriii — and a handful of headlining dates including August 28, 2022 at Berlin Under A. As always, all tour dates are below.

Tour dates

8/3 – Casbah /Soda – San Diego, CA *

8/4 – The Echo – Los Angeles, CA *

8/5 – Amados – San Francisco, CA *

8/6 – The Holland Project – Reno, NV *

8/7 – Starlet Room – Sacramento, CA **

8/9 – Fixin’ To – Portland, OR

8/10 – The Shakedown – Bellingham, WA

8/12 – Substation x Freakout Presents – Seattle, WA 

8/13 – Neurolux – Boise, ID

8/15 – Vultures – Colorado Springs, CO **

8/16 – Lost Lake – Denver, CO

8/17 – miniBar – Kansas City, .MO

8/18 – Amsterdam – St. Paul, MN

8/21 – Landline Presents @ The Burl – Lexington, KY **

8/22 – The Blue Room @ Third Man – Nashville, TN **

8/23 – 529 Bar – Atlanta, GA

8/24 – El Rocko @ Dog Day Presents – Savannah, GA

8/25 – Snug Harbor – Charlotte, NC

8/26 – Pie Shop – Washington, DC

8/27 – World Cafe – Philadelphia, PA 

8/28 – Berlin Under A – New York, NY 

* = w/ Wild Wild Wets

** = w/ Hooveriii

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Mexico City-based psych pop act Petite Aime was founded by Little Jesus bassist Carlos Medina. Last year, Medina (guitar) was joined by Aline Terrein (vocals), Isabel Dosal (vocals), Santiago Fernández (bass) and Jacobo Velazquez (guitar) to write and record the project’s self-titled full-length debut. 

Slated for a Friday release through Park The Van/Devil In The Woods, the Mexican psych pop act’s self-titled debut reportedly finds the band crafting material that fluctuates between different genres and styles based on psych pop and psych rock while touching upon influences like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Big Thief, Magic Potion, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Crumb. Lyrically the album’s material is generally centered around an expression of the existential angst engendered by the search for the “self” in an increasingly impersonal world, where the line between what’s real and what’s virtual crystallizes. 

Last month, I wrote about “Elektro,”a dreamy yet club friendly bop centered around glistening synth arpeggios, a hypnotic, motorik groove and propulsive four-on-the-floor, ethereal vocals singing lyrics in French and a vocoder drenched coda. Sonically recalling From Here To Eternity-era Giorgio Moroder and JOVM mainstay MUNYA, “Elektro,” as the band explained was actually inspired by dreaming and dreams. “We tried to translate a dream where you don’t know exactly where you are going but you let yourself go,” the band explains. “Stars come down to Earth and transport you to another world and although you know you are enjoying it you’ll always miss the place where you come from.”

“Adiós,” the self-titled album’s latest single is a delicate and introspective song centered around strummed acoustic guitar, woozy synths, and Spanish lyrics delivered with a wistful nostalgia over something or someone that you can’t ever get back — but with the understanding that it may be for the best.

“It’s a ballad where we say goodbye to someone or something forever,” the band explains. “It’s a nostalgic and introspective song that allows us to accept that saying goodbye is a way of freeing oneself and letting be.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Mexico City’s Petite Aime Releases a Hilarious and Trippy Visual for Dance Floor Friendly “Elektro”

Mexico City-based psych pop act Petite Aime was founded by Little Jesus bassist Carlos Medina. Last year, Medina (guitar) was joined by Aline Terrein (vocals), Isabel Dosal (vocals), Santiago Fernández (bass) and Jacobo Velazquez (guitar) to write and record the project’s self-titled full-length debut.

Slated for an October 1, 2021 release through Park The Van/Devil In The Woods, the Mexican psych pop act’s self-titled debut reportedly finds the band crafting material that fluctuates between different genres and styles based on psych pop and psych rock while touching upon influences like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Big Thief, Magic Potion, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Crumb. Lyrically the album’s material is generally centered around an expression of the existential angst gendered by the search for the “self” in an increasingly impersonal world,. where the line between what’s real and what’s virtual crystallizes.

The album’s latest single “Elektro” is a dreamy yet club friendly bop centered around glistening synth arpeggios, a hypnotic motorik groove, and propulsive four-on-the-floor paired with ethereal French vocals, complete with a vocoder drenched coda. While sonically nodding at From Here To Eternity-era Giorgio Moroder and JOVM mainstay MUNYA, “Elektro,” was actually inspired by dreaming and dreams. “We tried to translate a dream where you don’t know exactly where you are going but you let yourself go,” the band explains. “Stars come down to Earth and transport you to another world and although you know you are enjoying it you’ll always miss the place where you come from.”

The recently released video begins with a Members Only jacket wearing man, listening to music on his Walkman and jamming out in an abandoned mall. Initially, the viewer may think our protagonist is hopefully alone in a post-apocalyptic world much like our own — but towards the vocoder-drenched coda, the protagonist is surprised when he sees a crew of friends, who invite him to join.