Interview: Diego García

With his solo debut Laura, former Elefant frontman Diego García has quietly released one of 2011's strongest and most beautiful albums. Colored with flamenco-style finger-plucked guitars, elegant string arrangements, splashy percussion, and whispery reverb-coated vocals, the recording is both lushly decorated and heartbreakingly intimate. It's also convincingly timeless: place the album on a shelf in between 1970s LPs by the likes of Leonard Cohen, Lee Hazlewood, and Julio Iglesias and it'd feel right at home. Together with producer Jorge Elbrecht of Violens, García has crafted a truly classic long-player in Laura that will undoubtedly be a favorite here for years to come. Check out our interview with García below, and if you dig, make sure to grab a copy of Laura, out now on Nacional Records.

A New Classic: Diego García's Laura

On his debut solo record Laura, Diego García, the Argentine-American singer and former frontman of post-punk band Elefant, channels a very classic and lush sound that at once recalls the intimacy of Leonard Cohen and the elegant production of Lee Hazlewood. Although García sings the entire record in English, the intonation and cadence of his singing voice often makes the songs sound as if they are in Spanish. It's a clever trick and one that pairs beautifully with the sharp flamenco-like lead acoustic guitar work. Over the record's 9 tracks, there's perhaps no moment more perfect than the chorus of the title-track, "Laura": García's sweetly heartbroken and pillowy vocals float on waves of reverb across a slow march of drums and a grand arrangement of strings. It's a rich combination of textures that might as well have been plucked off a 1970s Julio Iglesias or Nancy Sinatra record—simply timeless.

Diego García - "You Were Never There" (from Laura)

Stream: Diego García - "Laura" (from Laura)