From the start of this fascinating and beautifully written book about the Chilean New Song, McSherry makes it clear her desire to discuss ‘how the power of music interconnects with politics’ (p. xvii). The analysis is made from a Gramscian perspective, arguing that the New Song was a counterhegemonic movement where musicians ‘did not simply reflect or articulate the politics of the time; they helped to create the politics of the time, and embody it’ (p. 15). Her argument goes across the eight chapters of the book, concluding that the New Song musicians, supported by key institutions and working collaboratively, were catalysts of cultural transformation, challenging ‘the rigid hierarchies of social class in Chile’ (p. 188).

One of the novelties of the book are the interviews with musicians and cultural agents who were part of the New Song movement. Considering the atrocities that most of these musicians suffered during Pinochet's dictatorship (1973–1989), such as torture and exile, it is particularly noteworthy that McSherry included their voices in the narrative. However, the lack of a critical perspective from the author towards the accounts of the interviewees continues the prevailing trend of romanticising the New Song. Recent publications – unfortunately not referenced in this book – have addressed the New Song critically, highlighting conflicts and exclusions within the movement, such as Schmiedecke (Reference Schmiedecke2013a) and Vilches (Reference Vilches, Karmy and Farías2014).

Another contribution of McSherry's book is her analysis of popular music as a political tool, discussing previous work of key scholars, such as Mark Mattern and John Street. Nevertheless, here it seems that some idealised ideas about music are at the back of her mind. She argues with Mattern's approach because he ‘seems to misunderstand the creative process and the magic of music’ (p. 127). She asks the musicians about their creative process, to which most of them ‘argued that music, and art, come from the heart and soul and that music of quality cannot be strategically planned to achieve certain objectives’ (p. 128). Possibly this romanticised notion of music deters the author from discussing in depth the conceptual boundaries between political music and songs of propaganda. She considers Quilapayún's set of songs Canciones Contingentes (1973) as the latter, arguing that they ‘fit most clearly within Mattern's perspective of songs written for a purpose’ (p. 130). Arguably, she states that Inti-Illimani did not sing pamphlet songs, addressing their Canto al Programa (1970) – a work requested by the Communist Party – in Chapter 6, arguing that ‘this does not mean that the songs were pamphlets, although some were designed to be exactly that’ (p. 158). She also highlights the artistic value of political songs addressing Víctor Jara's ‘Preguntas por Puerto Montt’ (Reference Víctor1969) as ‘a key example of a political song whose artistic excellence elevated it far above a contingent song’ (p. 133). A more comprehensive approach to music and politics would have included a broader discussion of to what extent songs of propaganda are considered less artistic.

Perhaps because of McSherry's disciplinary home in political science, the musical analysis in the book is scant. It might have been interesting to see an insight to the music itself, especially in Chapter 5, where she analyses the Canciones Contingentes and a selection of 12 songs that she calls ‘Emblematic songs’ (p. 133). She focuses on the lyrics and says very little about musical characteristics, which becomes relevant when highlighting the popularity of some of the songs as ‘catchy tunes, well known to, and sung by, all sectors of the public’ (p. 131). She describes ‘Las Ollitas’ as a ‘witty song with Cuban musical roots’ (pp. 131–2), without delving in the significance of the rhythm that it might have had during this same period, when cumbia and other Latin American dance genres were gaining popularity among the Chilean public (see Rodríguez Reference Rodríguez2008 and Karmy et al. Reference Karmy, Vargas, Mardones and Ardito2013).

It is noteworthy how a hint about the topic of musical labour appears when the author analyses musicians’ creative process. Horacio Salinas, from Inti-Illimani, explains that composing songs was a ‘work like any other. You have to dedicate yourself’ (p. 148). This evidence of music as work – as opposed to a result of inspiration, which Salinas argues ‘doesn't exist’ (p. 148) – emerges, contrasting the romantic idea of music as an expression of the heart and soul, which the author seems to overlook.

Chapters 5 and 6 are the most engaging. Here the collaborations between different musicians, genres and artistic disciplines are highlighted, arguing that these links were a core characteristic of the political contribution of the New Song movement. In the extensive bibliography, I missed contemporary publications about some of these collaborations, addressed in the book with few references. Especially relevant are the crossovers with rock, which have been largely discussed among New Song scholars, of whom she only refers to Salas (Reference Salas2000, Reference Salas2003), leaving fresher publications absent from her references, such as Farías (Reference Farías, Karmy and Farías2014) and Ponce (Reference Ponce2008). Regarding the author's argument on the crucial role of institutions in supporting the New Song movement, it would have been fascinating to read her engaging in dialogue with scholars such as Schmiedecke (Reference Schmiedecke2013a, Reference Schmiedeckeb, Reference Schmiedecke2014a, Reference Schmiedeckeb), one of the most prolific in the study of Chilean New Song, alas absent from the book.

Overall, the book is a welcome contribution to the field of popular music politics, expanding the rather small literature in English about the New Song movement. It contributes to presenting a comprehensive account of the movement and its relation with other cultural movements of the time and analysing it in interrelationship with contemporary Latin American history. However, the romanticised notions that the author expresses about the phenomena are a significant drawback of this book.