For Marinero’s Jess Sylvester, La La La is an album that’s also a reinvention. Moving from the comforting familiarity of the Bay Area to the sprawling, sun-soaked environment of Los Angeles, Sylvester found himself inspired by the city’s cinematic past and eclectic musical history. The result ends up being a lush, genre-crossing record that touches on identity and sobriety through storytelling with a playful yet profound touch.

Since forming Marinero, Sylvester has flirted with a melting pot of sounds, from moody psychedelia to Latin rhythms and sophisticated pop, but La La La paints outside the lines even further. Inspired by Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye and the classic 90s films of East L.A., he paints an audio portrait of a city both mythical and real. The album’s title nods both to the city that shaped it and the intricate, harmony-laden pop within it. Written during a period of reflection and reinvention, La La La finds Sylvester stepping outside of himself. Tracks look at the struggles of others - whether a heroine navigating sobriety, blacklisted screenwriters fighting for their voices, or friends at a crossroads. But through all these narratives, there’s a thread of hope, humor, and self-acceptance.

Sylvester’s musical roots run deep. Raised on salsa and Mexican ballads by his San Francisco-born mother, he channels that heritage into standout tracks like “Taquero,” a fiery salsa anthem using tacos as a cheeky metaphor for romance, and “Pocha Pachanga,” a Ray Barreto-meets-Santana jam with swirling organ and pulsing percussion. With a handpicked ensemble including Eduardo Arenas of Chicano Batman, Sylvester finds players fluent in these styles, which helps push his songwriting to new places. His journey with sobriety, now spanning 21 years, also finds its way into La La La. The Cohen-produced “Sea Changes” is a beacon of encouragement, a sunny ode to newfound clarity and confidence. “Dream Suite” follows suit, a hopeful serenade for those shedding their past to chase a brighter future. “Take a chance on something new,” he sings, his voice floating skyward like a reassuring embrace.

In many ways, La La La is Sylvester’s most complete statement yet, a reflection of his Mexican-Irish roots, his love of cinematic storytelling, and his deepening understanding of self. He’s not bound by expectations, embracing salsa one moment and contemplating Hollywood history the next. What emerges is a record that feels distinctly Californian: eclectic, vibrant, and unapologetically free.