In addition to María José Llergo, Taylor Swift, Duran Duran and Sidonie release their album. These are the reviews of the albums of the week (and here you can read those of the latest films to hit theaters):
María José Llergo, Ultrabelleza ★★★★✩
Flamenco / Sony
The singer and musician from Córdoba has managed to make it clear with just two albums that her place in the flamenco Olympus is more than justified. Some outstanding examples of the quality, variety, commitment and enjoyment of this Ultrabeauty had already given clues in singles such as Rueda, Rueda or Superpoder. In the latter, for example, she skillfully combined sincere autobiographical touches with a sweeping whiff of commitment. A social and personal commitment, and in this last aspect, with the achievement of good as the great objective, and with the praise of difference as the other great and inseparable goal.
Artistically, Llergo goes one step further in its coherence. That is, not standing still and also looking for the difference here and, for that matter, the risk. And that aforementioned coherence starts with its fidelity to the roots of flamenco singing, although on this occasion the different sound dresses take on the main role, largely pairing with the avant-garde. Proof of this is the aforementioned Superpoder, in which Pozoblanco's film conveys its fiery lyrics with the production of Zahara and Martí Perarnau. He also has the complicity of his faithful Valencian producer, Lost Twin, or
transstylistic outsiders George Moore and Knox Brown. And as a result, sharing a little bit of everything, like going from her sweet voice in the harsh So Long to the rapping of Vision and Reflection or the very direct nudity of Lucha.
Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor's Version) ★★★✩✩
Pop / Republic
In 2014, the undisputed icon of current pop music released the album 1989, with hits like Shake it off, Blank space or Style. He has even given the material from that time a more poppy touch, with his voice as the prominent protagonist above the production. She has added five new compositions, in the same vein as Say do n't go, written with Diane Warren.
Duran Duran, Danse Macabre ★★✩✩✩
Pop-Rock / Tape Modern-BMG
The seasoned band revolves around Halloween, the macabre or the supernatural. Raw material for a typical work from the house label, with special emphasis on the covers (from Billie Eilish and the Stones to an almost photocopy of Talking Heads' Serial killer) and some re-recordings of their own songs such as Nightboat or Love voodoo. Among the guests, the unmistakable Nile Rodgers.
Sidonie, Marc, Axel and Jes ★★★★✩
Pop-Rock / Sony
Infallible craftsmen with a varied range, the Catalan band opts on this occasion for a splendid series of pop capsules, brief and brilliantly effective. A quarter of a century of coherence and desire to share pleasure and culture significantly confirm it with a look at the vigorous origins of the trio, quite far from their previous and conceptual Abba Returns.
