As 2025 draws to a close, it’s an ideal time to shout about the records that cut through the noise and actually linger. And one album that’s properly stood out for us is the self-titled debut from Los Costureros – a Totnes-formed quartet threading Spanish, Brazilian and modern rumba influences into something vivid, intimate and joyfully human.

The backstory alone has all the makings of a hit movie. “Last autumn we left Totnes for Spain to make a record,” says lead singer Jovi Selicorni. At first they got to work in Jovi’s late grandmother’s apartment in Mataró “until the neighbours got sick of our noise and threw soup at the front door”.

Later the band “decamped to a commune in the mountains,” where “among the market traders, dreamers and hustlers, the music just flowed.”

It was, by the band’s own admission, a DIY graft. They busked to earn cash for gear and built the sessions around borrowed spaces and community spirit – “it was a shoestring operation, a community effort,” recalls bassist George.

On their self-titled jewel of a debut album, that sense of closeness radiates through in the texture: Jovi’s matinee idol lead vocals, Eliot’s skittering congas, George’s hip-swivelling basslines and Anthony’s joyful trumpet, all woven together with acrobatic nylon-string licks and breathtaking three-part harmonies. The writing is rooted in storytelling too, inspired by late-night kitchen-table chatter and lively Spanish markets, with a supporting cast that includes “bellowing fruit sellers, whispering lovers, lucky sailors and street-corner choruses.”

If you’re new to Los Costureros – the name, by the way, means “the tailors” – start with “Mírame” and “Corriente del Río”, two tracks that capture the album’s sense of movement and colour, and the way Los Costureros balance intimacy with pure rhythmic lift.

The album’s release on 25 October was matched by an ambitious launch night at Dartington Great Hall – a 300-capacity sold-out celebration that turned a sombre medieval setting into a joyful counterpoint of stagecraft, wit and dancefloor energy. The first half showcased spirited performances of the album material; the second half leaned into dancing and communal release – exactly the kind of “you had to be there” moment that makes an album feel like more than a file on a streaming app.

So as a year-end tip, consider this your nudge: put the album on, go pour yourself a stiff drink, and let Los Costureros transport you somewhere significantly sunnier.

Instagram: @loscostureros.music

Words - Andy Hill

Pictures - Kieran Daykin