Lexi Valentine returns to music today with Lo Claroscuro, an album shaped by questions of identity, belonging and what it means to feel at home in more than one place. The single “Niña Feliz” sits among the record’s reflections on those tensions, as Valentine makes space for the different parts of her life without trying to resolve them.
The Mexican-Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist spent much of the past year moving between Mexico City and Toronto as her father faced ongoing health issues, while also coming to terms with the end of a long-term relationship. After stepping away from music following the pandemic, those experiences eventually pulled her back toward songwriting.
That tension sits at the centre of Lo Claroscuro. Valentine, who first made her name as the frontwoman of Toronto indie-rock trio Magneta Lane, doesn’t treat her Mexican and Canadian identities as opposing sides. The album moves between English and Spanish, allowing questions of family, grief, love and belonging to sit alongside one another rather than resolving them neatly.
Produced with longtime collaborator Jon Drew, the record also brings together musicians connected to Magneta Lane, The Balconies, Controller Controller, SeaDaisy and Neverending White Lights. Across Lo Claroscuro, Valentine moves between English and Spanish while making space for family, grief, love and belonging without forcing those experiences into neat categories.
“I hope people take away that it’s okay to be more than one thing at once,” Valentine says. “You can be happy and still carry sadness. You can love where you are and still miss somewhere else.”
That idea gives Lo Claroscuro its emotional centre. After years spent moving between projects and away from music altogether, Valentine returns with a record that makes room for the past alongside everything that comes next.
Listen to the track below:
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