For a band with the resilience of Okills, this seems like the easiest, most natural thing in the world

Partly produced by Cheo Pardo (ex Los Amigos Invisibles, Los Crema Paraíso, Loco Beach, DJ Afro) and Grammy winner Ulises Hadjis, along with Méxican musician El David Aguilar, with a one-track contribution by Ferraz, Okills discovers a new voice within themselves, not only literally (Alberto Arcas is now joined by the drummer Drito Bautista, whose sweet voice comes off as a nice surprise for the band and a wonderful addition to their tropical indie sound) but also metaphorically.

After the departures of both of their guitarists and founding members, as well as the great success of their previous works, Venezuelan-born México-based outfit, Okills, had to face one of the most enormous challenges a band has to overcome when losing a member: find a new workflow to make music. It’s a process as hard as finding yourself, in the sense that you always want to try new things and they can end up being straight up garbage or making a turn that leaves your personality and what your fans loved about you in the past, losing some of these people in the process.

For a band with the resilience of Okills, this seemed like the easiest, most natural thing in the world. On “Estar bien”, their fourth long-play, the band showcases their touch for making catchy and intelligent pop songs is intact, and that their melodic quest has taken them to an elevated and privileged spot full of playful riffs and beautiful vocals. This is a work that uses indie pop to move around some timid new wave-y moments (specially in “Me sobra la plata and Seguir así”).

This is an album where you can tell that Okills are great students, doing their homework to refresh their influences to deliver a new sound. While it feels in a new place in comparison to their usual work, this musicality also makes you think about the reasons of why you fell for their music in the first place.

Stream “Estar bien” LP on Spotify.