Kevin Bronson on September 7th, 2016

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Y La Bamba’s new album “Ojos Del Sol” is a rapturous exploration of identity, family and culture that sonically draws from folk, indie-rock and Latin rock. It’s tied together by the full-throated vocals (and palpable force of will) of Luz Elena Mendoza, who’s been likened to a Latina Joanna Newsom, Neko Case or Feist.

On Tuesday’s night at downtown’s Resident, Mendoza was distinctly herself. If one litmus test for a great work of art is a preponderance of evidence that nobody else on the planet could have made it, “Ojos Del Sol,” the Portland act’s fourth album, passes. In two languages, it’s an extraordinary (and extraordinarily eclectic) tour of Mendoza’s newfound comfort zone, where strength, tolerance and empathy rule, and all shine in her music’s comportment. It’s an album that connects cultural dots by reinforcing commonalities rather than dissecting differences.

“Thank you for coming to hear us play ‘Ojos Del Sol,’” guitarist Andrew Brennan said three songs into what would be riveting hour-long set. Then, nodding to the frontwoman: “It’s truly a work of love.”

Mendoza, the San Francisco-born daughter of Mexican immigrants who was reared in a strict Catholic household in Southern Oregon and whose travels include a near-death experience on a trip to India in 2003, truly inhabited the songs too, whether the unbridled joy and Latin rhythms of “Libre,” the smart, harmony-drenched single “Ostrich,” the intoxicating acoustic title track or the quavering “Atmosphere,” the chill-inducing encore.

The surprise came mid-set, when Mendoza performed a song she said she wrote a month and a half ago, “Beyond Human Apology,” performed as a duet with keyboardist-singer Kelly McFarling. Informed by the current calamity of world and national events, the song’s intent, Mendoza explained, is “to nurture emotional intelligence … and the hope that we can navigate towards one another instead of walking away.”

L.A. psych-jazz trio Brainstory preceded Y La Bamba with 40 minutes of deep grooves and fierce soloing, playing a handful of new songs (including the winning “Dreams”). Joel Jerome opened the night with a gorgeous 30-minute acoustic set that would have been one long medley had he not had to stop to tune.

Photos by Jessica Hanley

||| Stream: “Ojos Del Sol”