Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso Are Top-Notch Musicians With Little Left to Say on ‘Free Spirits’

Looking back, the viral Tiny Desk session that Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso manifested in October of 2024 may have been more of a unicorn than we initially realized. Admirably brief, exultant from beginning to end, enhanced by a sympathetic brass section and female coros from the U.S., the showcase transformed the Argentine duo into one of Latin music’s most glamorous international stars.

Presumably, this was also the specific moment in time when the internal wiring of the whole thing started to overheat . Last year’s follow-up EP, Papota , turned their wicked sense of humor into an ongoing comedy skit, complete with songs about impostors and a number of public shenanigans meant to outrage the bourgeoisie. The boys’ much-anticipated second album, Free Spirits, offers very little that is new and not a single track to match the visionary brilliance of their mega-hit “El Único.” Its hyperactive songs are soaked in a mood that would have been unthinkable two years ago: a permanent sense of paranoia and dissatisfaction.

It’s the message underneath the layers of aural candy chaos that feels a...