Kevin Bronson on October 20th, 2016

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Bootleg Orchestra are a genre-bending, activism-minded, simpatico-spreading quintet from Long Beach. Or, as the band’s bio suggests, they are the answer to the question: What happens when some Berklee College of Music grads get together with LBC natives in one of the country’s most diverse cities? The band is fronted by three female vocalists, co-founders Menchie Caliboso (who also produces) and Vanessa Acosta (who also plays trumpet), along with Marley Rae. Along with drummer Felipe Guzman Martinez, pianist Benjamin Florio and bassist Dustin Moore, Bootleg Orchestra debuted with an EP in 2015, and this summer, just prior to their appearance at Long Beach’s Music Tastes Good festival, the followed up with the single “In Control.” Their new single “So Called Love” puts aside for a second the Bootleg Orchestra’s principal themes of hope and social justice in favor of a good ol’ love song — one, they say, is “about breaking away from illusions about love.” Jazzy and soulful and punctuated by Luciana’s mournful horn, it’s almost silky-smooth enough to get rid of heartbreak’s sour aftertaste.

||| Stream: “So Called Love”

||| Also: Stream “In Control”

||| Live: Bootleg Orchestra, along with acts like Fartbarf, Danke, Conrad Clifton and more, perform at “Night Dive” at the Long Beach Aquarium on Friday, Oct. 28.