With City of Mirrors, Chicago group Dos Santos have hit upon a sound that is intimate and expansive, organic and electric, and, most notably, pan-cultural and uniquely American. With members originally hailing from Texas, Panama, and the American midwest, the group is a consummate representation of the laid-back "from here, from there, from everywhere" vibe of Chicago, but they have also very much defined their sound as one that is Latin in origins, but cosmic in breadth. Departing from the more jazzy proceedings of their previous album, 2017's Logos, City of Mirrors finds Dos Santos still thriving on improvisation and organic collaboration throughout, but with a considerable expansion of their electronic production palette. While many of the cuts here are rooted in Latin rhythms, the cumbia, merengue, and bossa nova beats are chopped, mixed, and recontextualized into something nearly unrecognizable. By incorporating traditional and modern Latin sounds that are reconfigured through the members' varied experiences and boundary-pushing experimentation, the result is not rock en Español in the usual sense; instead of standard alt-rock songs sung in Spanish, these are big ideas daringly executed. Opening with "A Shot in the Dark," a dynamic and challenging statement of intent, the wide open and exploratory nature of City of Mirrors is established quickly, melding organic, improvisational finesse with experimental electronics and traditional Mexican music. And while some tracks like "Alma Cósmica" and "Cages and Palaces" may strut and twang, the majority resides in a less direct, more liminal space, with dreamy and insistent moments like "Jaguar de Rosas" and the poetic "Soledad" giving both the group and the listener plenty of room to stretch out. The gentle and soulful "Lejos de Ti" is a perfect way to wind out the album, a reflective ballad undergirded by an insistent beat. Like the rest of City of Mirrors, it is emotional, heartbeat-familiar, and dreamily daring. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz