Twelve years ago, Enjambre was on the brink of breaking up before taking off due to another pandemic, 2009âs swine flu pandemic. Fortunately, the band hung in there and have released seven albums that blended the romanticism of Mexican folk music with rock and roll thatâs rooted in the U.S. Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the guys decided to translate the allure of their Spanish alternative rock into English on their EP Ambrosia.
âBecause of the pandemic, we finished the record [PrĂłximos PrĂłjimos] and we couldnât go out and tour with it, so we were like, âWhy donât we just do that English thing?’â Luis Humberto Navejas tells SPIN over Zoom.
With last yearâs plans to tour the PrĂłximos PrĂłjimos album in Mexico and the U.S. sidelined, Luis Humberto started work on Ambrosia while in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
âWe always wanted to record an EP in English,â Navejas adds. âWeâre from Zacatecas, but we also consider ourselves from the states. It was just natural for us to want to explore that area.â
Enjambreâs bicultural sound is the soul of the band. Luis Humberto formed the group with his brothers, Rafael and JuliĂĄn, and drummer Ăngel SĂĄnchez in Zacatecas, Mexico. The Navejas brothers grew up on classic rock, Mexican rancheras, and boleros that their dad listened to. When he moved to Orange County for work, they went with him and recorded their first album, 2008âs El Segundo Es Felino. From the buzz behind their debut, they were booking live gigs in nearby L.A. Enjambre gained a local fanbase, but they wanted more. The guys moved to Mexico City and worked part-time jobs while chasing their music dreams. That almost came to a halt during the swine flu pandemic.
âIt was very discouraging,â Rafael Navejas recalls of that time. âLuis was about to throw in the towel. It was a very challenging time, but we always believed in what we were doing. We believed we had something to offer, that our music was unique.â
Â
Â
Enjambre played on through the pandemic, performing in bars and opening other bandsâ shows. At the same time, their music was attracting major labels and later that year, the band reached a licensing deal with EMI to distribute their breakthrough album, 2010âs DaltĂłnico. Enjambre hit its stride with its loudest LP at the time. Songs like the dreamy âDulce Soledadâ amped up the alternative allure behind the band. The album struck a chord with the mainstream, and suddenly, Enjambre was headlining their own shows in Mexico.
âWe started experiencing for the first time massive audiences,â Rafael says. âWe started experiencing for the first time massive audiences.â
Now Enjambre is looking to translate its success into English with the bandâs follow-up to PrĂłximos PrĂłjimos, the Ambrosia EP. There was an English song on DaltĂłnico, but this is the first time that they tackled a project fully in that language.
âTo me [the EP] feels a little bit like an extension of PrĂłximos PrĂłjimos,â Luis Humberto says. âWe were still with that inertia. We had finished recording that record and everything was still fresh.â
On the lead single âDelorean,â Enjambre seeks to right any past mistakes through time travel, evoking the time machine from the Back to the Future movies. Luis Humberto sings in awe about taking Marty McFlyâs ride for a spin. The music video opens like a public broadcasting channel where the host pokes fun at the band going English by mimicking a gringo accent in Spanish.
âSince the song has a nostalgic feeling, I thought it would be interesting to have this nostalgic symbol, this car from this film that I watched when I was a kid,â Luis Humberto says.
The futuristic theme runs through the four songs on Ambrosia. In the raucous âCrash,â Luis Humberto seemingly comments on influencer culture in social media. âYou are running from the mirror, you show yourself only with filters,â he sings. On the EPâs stunning closer, âUpgrade,â he takes his stance on todayâs technology into hyperdrive.
âThe way that we live nowadays is very influenced by what we see in our cell phones,â Luis Humberto says. âWeâre a culture now thatâs very dependent on this apparatus, and thatâs very sci-fi like now. We always have to upgrade. Weâre succumbing to this technology. Itâs a song about that with a very romantic frosting.â
As venues reopen, Enjambre are starting to tour again while amassing new fans. Elvis Costello enlisted Luis Humberto for last monthâs Spanish Model album, covering the pub rock legendâs âHand in Handâ in Spanish with Chilean singer Francisca Valenzuela. As for the future of Enjambre, the guys hope to continue reaching more people in any language.
âThe plan is to keep recording, to keep making music, and to keep traveling,â JuliĂĄn Navejas says.
Luis Humberto adds, âAll we wanted to do was get onstage and play our songs. Weâve been doing it for a long time now and weâre still getting away with it. Thatâs the next goal, to do it until we canât.â