Freddie Trujillo

I Never Threw a Shadow At It

Self-released

I Never Threw a Shadow At It is Portland-based singer-songwriter Freddy Trujillo’s fourth solo release. Trujillo is also the bassist for The Delines and Richmond Fontaine, two bands that this writer enjoys. Like his previous releases, Trujillo digs deep into his personal experiences growing up in Southern California as a Chicano. In fact, the title track chronicles a situation when Trujillo called the LAPD when someone attempted to steal his car, only to be treated as a criminal himself because of the color of his skin. Every song on the album is personal except “Corpus Christi” and “Remember.” Although four members of The Delines play on the album (drummer Sean Oldham, keyboardist, trumpeter, and producer Cory Gray, the band’s lead vocalist Amy Boone who sings backgrounds here, and some assists in the writing from Willy Vlautin) you would never necessarily know it by the sonics.  Trujillo plays acoustic guitar, bass and sings on all tracks. The Delines are astute at melancholy ballads while Trujillo varies tempos and leans more into roots and pop rock. Other musicians include guitarists AG Donnaloa and Kenneth Coleman, and selected spots by Matt Berger, Gerardo Calderon, and Patricia Rojas.

Opener, the chugging “Corpus Christi” is originally a song Vlautin wrote for The Delines that they never recorded, perhaps because its upbeat rhythms didn’t quite jibe with the rest of that band’s music. In any case, the buoyant pop inflected hooks belie the kind of lyrics Vlautin is known for as it takes on addition, abuse and heading down the dark road.  Trujillo penned most of this material during the pandemic including a provocative tune about the current border crisis, “I Didn’t Cross the Border, The Border Crossed Me,” where he makes the point that the Southwest belonged to Mexico before it was ruthlessly annexed by the U.S. Donnaloa and Coleman rip off tasty, jangling guitar licks. These two axe men paint a galloping sonic portrait of the Southwest on the lone instrumental, reverb laden “Julio Jones.”

Trujillo has considered most Latin and Chicano music too safe and wants to spell out directly the prejudice and slights that he’s endured along the way.  This is the subject of power chords heavy, raging guitar laden “World Haunting Me” with Boone on backing vocals. Closer “Many Years of Minding’ is a highly emotional mid-tempo ballad exploring that dichotomy between being a Mexican or American. The stomper “Mexican Hearts” is another in this same mold, again with blistering, off-center blazing guitars.

There are plenty of distinctly Latin tinges too. Matt Berger adds percussion on “Remember Me,” the other with Boone on background. “No Puedo Llevar Este Dolor” (I Can’t Stand the Pain) is the most obvious cantina-like tune while the acoustic rendered “Windows” stands apart due to its instrumentation, a duet with Patrica Rojas who also plays violin. Gerardo Calderon colors with Spanish guitar, roncoco, and charango.

Trujillo makes an important statement in this era of immigration controversy. Those who listen will respect him and side with him. It’s those swayed by right wing propaganda who should lend an ear. Unfortunately that’s not likely but that should only fortify Trujillo’s cause.

• Jim Hynes

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