Familia is the sixth studio album by English singer and songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The album was produced by Ed Harcourt, who also produced Ellis-Bextor's previous album, Wanderlust. It was released on 2 September 2016, by EBGB LLP and was critically acclaimed. It was preceded by disco-pop single "Come with Us", which was released on 19 July.
Composition
"My new album Familia is the bolshier, more extrovert little sister to Wanderlust. It sees the Wanderlust girl move away from Eastern Europe to the warmer, sunnier climate of Latin America where she's swapped vodka for tequila."— Ellis-Bextor speaking about the album.
Singles
Four singles were released, but none of them saw the success of Ellis-Bextor's previous singles. The four songs were backed with music videos, all of them directed long-time collaborator Sophie Muller.
The first single from the album, "Come with Us", was released to radio stations on 19 July 2016 and was sent to radio stations across the UK, joining West Hull FM's playlist on 1 August and BBC Radio 2 on 5 August. The single release was in August 2016; it came ahead of the album in September. The release was accompanied with a simple music video, shot during the photoshoot of the album. It consists of Sophie singing and dancing to the song wearing colourful make-up and dresses. The aesthethics of the video take explicit inspiration from Mexican culture imagery. The single received a digital release in some territories and included three additional dance mixes: the "F9 Radio Edit", "F9 Extended Disco Mix" and "F9 Mixshow Edit".
On 10 October the video for "Crystallise" was released on Vevo. The digital single release followed one month later. About the ballad, Ellis-Bextor said: "Everyone has the potential to fall in love and 'Crystallise' is about how easy it is to realize it if you let yourself. The ability to love has been there since the day you were born". In the video we can see her wearing a long black lace dress, wandering through the rooms and gardens of an old house in the countryside of England. Two remixes of the song were released: the "F9 Radio Edit" and "F9 Extended Mix".
The third single was "Wild Forever", a track that was highlighted by specialised reviewers as a stand-out. The video was released on YouTube on 13 January 2017 and the next day the single followed. A music video was filmed in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Part of it was filmed in Casa Kimberly, the residence of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the sixties. Cinematography was undertaken by John Pérez. As with previous singles, "Wild Forever" was remixed by F9 into the "F9 Radio Edit" and "F9 Extended Mix".
"Death of Love" was the fourth and last single from the album, released on 24 April 2017. The accompanying video was shot in San Sebastián del Oeste, Mexico, and released earlier the same month. Instead of showing a glamorous and cosmopolitan Sophie, she is characterised as an inhabitant of a traditional Mexican town, shopping in the market, going to the church, walking in the streets and interacting with locals and eventually going to a bar to drink tequila and dance. The "Mariachi version" of the song and video was released less than a week after the official one. It was shot live at the La Barandilla tavern (that also appears at the end of the official version) with a group of uncredited mariachis.
Critical reception
Familia earned critical acclaim. John Aizlewood of the London Evening Standard said, "The pop singer brings ice-cold vocals and massive dance beats on her sixth LP. Sophie Ellis-Bextor's startling transformation from well-dressed pop poppet to mistress of imperious doom on 2014's Wanderlust didn't quite receive the acclaim it deserved."