Black Pumas avoid the "sophomore slump" and prove it on tour

The Black Pumas recently rolled through West Des Moines’ historic Val Air Ballroom for a shining stop on their “Chronicles of a Diamond” tour. There were some longtime fans in the crowd, whispering amongst themselves that they’ve never seen the band so electric. The Austin-based duo, made up of vocalist Eric Burton and producer/guitarist Adrian Quesada, as well as their band and back up vocalists, quickly got the crowd moving. Burton has a powerful and distinctive voice, and a clear knack for showmanship.

Still, despite their considerable abilities as live performers, Black Pumas have been quoted in the past as saying the studio is their “happy place,” and it’s easy to get that impression from speaking to Quesada. “I'm always working on a bunch of stuff,” said Quesada. “Both Eric and I are kind of just non-stop working on music.”

Quesada was already a well-regarded veteran musician before forming Black Pumas with Burton in 2017. His career has included time with the bands Brownout and Grupo Fantasma , with whom he won a Grammy in 2011 (he’s been nominated a total of eight times).

Quesada and Burton officially formed Black Pumas in 2018, releasing their self-titled debut album the following year. The album includes the song “Colors,” which Burton had written several years earlier. “Colors” has since become Black Pumas’ signature song. It was also the album’s third single, and was nominated for two Grammy awards.

“I think it speaks to the power of the song that it can mean so many different things to so many different people,” said Quesada. “And in that moment, you know, right around the pandemic was kind of like when the album was really out there. It seemed to just spread and have a message that a lot of people could connect with and sometimes even apply their own message onto it."

"That's the testament of a good song,” Quesada continued. “Some of the classic songs that we all love from the '60s and the '70s, they're just as powerful now as they were then, and I think that's just a damn good song.”

Avoiding the “sophomore slump”

After the pandemic “slammed the brakes on everything,” Black Pumas were able to return to touring, including an appearance at the 2021 Hinterland Festival. They then took a year off before reuniting to make what would become their second album, Chronicles Of A Diamond .

Elvis Costello once said to Creem magazine that “you have 20 years to write your first album and you have six months to write your second one.” Nobody knows who said it first, and there’s been plenty of variations of the phrase, but Quesada felt that senteiment when it was time for Black Pumas to make another record.

“There were absolutely no expectations or pressure or anything on the first one,” said Quesada. “So this time around there was a lot of pressure, a lot of people kind of over our shoulder, and... and just a lot of expectations. And it was just made under a different process. Eric was co-producer on this one and had a lot of big hand in the production as well.”

In addition to wanting to avoid the so-called “sophomore slump,” Quesada said the success of the first album and “Colors” in particular created some expectations, but he feels like Black Pumas rose to the occasion.

“When you have a song like ‘Colors’ that reaches so many people and means so many things to so many different people, there's that expectation. ‘Is there another song like that? Is there another moment like that on the album?‘” said Quesda. “And the more I've actually heard it now, I'm really, really happy with the moves that we made with it. And I think it took a second for people to embrace it the way that they did the first one, but I think it's really been a nice slow burn. It's just striking a nerve and resonating.”

Although Chronicles Of A Diamond may not have a “Colors,” it’s a definite step forward for the band. It’s full of songs that grow on you the more you hear them, with Burton in great voice throughout and some extremely cool arrangements behind him. Black Pumas have covered songs by The Beatles and The Kinks , and it’s easy to hear the influence of both on this record. “ Mrs. Postman ” was the first single from this album, and it’s still in rotation on Studio One, but I’m partial to “ More Than a Love Song ,” the first song on the album. It’s a great, classic-sounding soul tune, and a great showcase for Burton.

In addition to his work with Black Pumas, Quesada released a pair of solo records in 2022: a collection of instrumentals called Jaguar Sounds , and Boleros Psicodélicos , a tribute to Latin American psychedelic ballads. Quesada is currently working on a follow-up to that album, and he makes an effort to keep ideas for solo records and Black Pumas records separate.

“Those were very much pandemic records,” said Quesada. “Just done while you know the world was kind of shut down and done all remotely, so it was a very different process from making the Pumas album. I don't know if anything really spilled over. If anything, I just didn't want to repeat any of those ideas. I definitely made an effort to not do so.”

Black Pumas’ recent appearance in West Des Moines was part of their recent tour which is currently wrapping up. They’ll head back out in November for some dates in Europe. When I spoke to Quesada about touring, I noted that they only had a couple of days off in their schedule, and he very politely noted that they’re not really “days off.”

“It's kind of deceiving when you see a day off, it's really a travel day,” said Quesada. “And they're never the most relaxing days when there are actual days off with no travel. Everybody has their own different routines. Personally, I like to go record shopping. I like the culture around record stores, and if a town has a cool record store, you'll find the good restaurants and the good coffee shops and the bars and everything around there most likely.”

“So I typically go record shopping and I have a little portable studio work a little bit in the studio, try to get outside and go for a walk if possible.”

Here’s hoping Black Pumas will be back in Iowa sooner rather than later, and possibly making a stop at a record store near you.

IPR’s Madeleine King contributed to this story.