Enjambre at State Theatre

The namesake behind this Mexican indie rock band, enjambre is Spanish for “swarm,” isn’t about the international buzz they’ve gotten around their seven albums, particularly in the ultra-competitive Mexico City music scene. It’s an omnipresent reminder of Enjambre’s origins—back when it was a three-piece band whose members’ last name, Navejas, sounds like abejas, the Spanish word for bees. It’s also a sign of an unchanging core regardless of what evolutions Enjambre takes, most recently dropping their first English-language project, the EP Ambrosia, in October 2021. The band, made up of three brothers—Rafael, Julian, and Luis Humberto Navejas—and like-minded musicians, still has roots in an eclectic mix of classic rock and Latin American bolero influences. Growing up listening to the Beatles, Stones, and Zeppelin alongside romantic ballad icons like José José, Sandro de América, and Julio Iglesias, the Navejas brothers’ medley of rock and romanticism reflects the two worlds they navigated early on: their hometown of Zacatecas, Mexico, and Southern California, where they came of age. Their steel drive got them through two decades as a band and tough times in Mexico City, where these “total foreigners” held odd jobs waiting tables, working at horse stables, and selling funeral packages door to door. Fast-forward past their success as oddities in the Mexican capital to COVID times, you’ll find that the band, unable to tour, made the jump to English-language songs while keeping the soul of their sound. Ambrosia hits on existentialist and futuristic themes. Songs like “Delorean” conjure up nostalgia of big dreams before bitterness seeps into adulthood. Two songs on the EP try to “make sense of this new way of living since smartphones,” Rafael Navejas, the band’s bassist and music arranger, tells City Paper. “The way we interact, the way we view the world or ourselves … [is] so dependable now on this apparatus … sucking up our souls.” But despite the swarm of messages in their latest lyrics, Enjambre isn’t looking to change their listeners’ beliefs or behavior—their hope is for audiences to glance in the mirror and connect with just one. Enjambre performs Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at State Theatre, 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church. $27–$30. Proof of vax required.