Review of Camila Cabello’s Third Album Familia

Familia is the third full-length album by Camila Cabello and perhaps her most personal one. There are glimpses of evolution throughout the production and the lyrics. Every song is filled with a certain kind of joy that only she knows how to bring to life. The mix between Spanish and English makes for a very cultural listening experience.

Tracklist Review

The opening song of the total 12 is the titular song Familia. It’s a 17-second track that sets the mood for what’s to come. Cabello then goes into the second track entirely sung in Spanish Celia. This song may very well fly under the radar, but it really shouldn’t. It has got to be one of the best songs of the entire year so far with an incredible chorus and amazing vocals.

The next two songs are clearly going to be the biggest from the album. Not because they were written to be hits, in fact, one could argue that Cabello wrote from her heart rather than with her wallet in mind. However, the features are going to make the songs blow up. On the third track Psychofreak Willow Smith appears in the pre-chorus and throughout the chorus vocalizes with Cabello. The song’s about wanting to love somebody really badly but being unable to for a myriad of reasons. The fourth track Bam Bam features possibly the biggest artist in the world over the past decade — Ed Sheeran. Themes of heartbreak that unsurprisingly resonate with the break-up Camila had with Shawn Mendes prior to writing this song.

La Buena Vida is the fifth track on the album. Camila herself said this is one of her favorites on the album. More themes of love and attraction echo throughout the sixth track Quiet. Then, Boys Don’t Cry switches lanes ever so slightly. Tackling toxic masculinity in relationships pleading for men to let go of the stereotype that crying isn’t manly.

The eighth track Hasta Los Dientes is another banger in Spanish. The Latin vibes are felt perhaps the most throughout the next track No Doubt. Once again Cabello is singing about love and her own shortcomings within that context. There are definitely one or two repeated topics all throughout the album but the reason it doesn’t get boring is that each song feels like it has its own identity still. One of the biggest hits of Camila’s career, Don’t Go Yet is the tenth track. The second to last track Lola is a collaborative effort with Cuban singer Yotuel. It’s a deeply reflective song about ‘breaking the ceiling’ in relation to the ongoing Cuban dictatorship. The last track Everyone at this Party is one of the slowest songs on the album. It’s a fit ending to a great third outing by one of the world’s biggest stars.

Connecting with Her Roots

Camila said she wanted to connect with her roots through this album. The Latin influences and homages are very obvious from the start to the end. Almost everything here works in its favor. Familia isn’t breaking any new ground realistically either on the production or lyrical side of things, but it does what it needs to do — entertain and connect.

The intertwining of Spanish and English throughout is done incredibly smoothly. It is clear Camila put a lot of thought into every part of the album. It’s an album that expresses love and radiates summer energy. There’s no doubt that this album will be on everyone’s 2022 summer playlist for good reason.

Camila explained that this is an album about relationships, whether it’s about family, friends, or romantic love, it’s all about connection. Well, if her goal was for the listener to have an experience from which they come out having listened to one of the best albums of the year, that has been achieved.

Photo: Tom Rose/shutterstock

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