Bad Bunny is on a roll.
The self-proclaimed bobo who graduated from CUTA turned international
superstar has been enthralling audiences in Latin America and beyond with
his signature deep, melodic Auto-Tune sound ever since his debut album,
‘X100PRE’ hit the charts on Christmas Eve, 2018. Originally a pioneer of
the Latin Trap genre, Benito (as referred to by millions of his adoring fans)
has shown us his musical versatility with his follow-up albums
‘YHLQMDLG,’ a love letter to old-school reggaeton, and ‘El Ultimo Tour Del
Mundo,’ a personal record that blends hip-hop and rock so artfully that it
became the first ever all-Spanish album to reach the top spot of the
Billboard Hot 200. After so many remarkable feats, one was left to wonder
what his next move would be.
And he didn’t disappoint.
‘Un Verano Sin Ti’, his latest album that literally translates to ‘A Summer
Without You,’ promises to offer a plethora of heartbreak anthems at first
glance (which is no surprise, considering Bad Bunny was behind the
tearjerkers that were Amorfoda and La Cancion), but subverts its image
wonderfully. This album; taking more of the indie-Carribean route with
sounds of bachata, bomba and cumbia, is filled with songs about the
pleasure of being in idyllic love.
This album boasts a large tracklist of 23 unique songs, ranging from the
smooth reggae of Me Fui De Vacaciones, to the heavy-hitting percussion of
La Corriente to the genre-bending techno hit that is El Apagon. Benito
shows his listeners a side of himself that we’ve never seen before — It
turns out that underneath that tough bravado exists a sensitive man who
just wants to fall in love. His chill, smooth voice is encapsulated around a
beat showered in sounds of rainfall and chime-like synths in Aguacero,
where he sings about wanting to take things slow; to savour every single
moment of the “will-they-won’t-they” phase and respect each other’s pace
in the relationship. The lyrics come across as playful, yet genuine, as he
reminds you that he’s a Pisces — falling in love with him is easy but falling
out of it is not.
Ojitos Lindos, featuring Colombian indie band Bomba Estereo, is definitely
my favourite track on the album. Benito and lead singer Liliana Saumet sing
about the little things that matter in love, as a heady synth-powered track
plays underneath — showing that making mistakes can be beautiful and
just being with someone you adore can give you a whole new sense of
living. He brings back Dakiti collaborator Jhay Cortez – in what could be the
biggest power move in the history of Latin Pop (considering Jhay’s nemesis
Rauw Alejandro also gets a feature on the album)- for Tarot, a club-ready
banger about being infatuated with a girl, filled with energy and ocean
sounds that would even make a paraplegic want to dance.
Of course, Benito doesn’t completely let go of the braggadocio and
liveliness we know him for; the album provides a beautiful contrast between
the love songs mentioned above and songs that are just meant for us to let
loose and enjoy life as it is. Despues De La Playa might just be the biggest
example of this; the song, produced by MAG, starts with cold tones
reminiscent of 8-bit arcade sounds and provides a head-turning transition
into a lively mambo track, accompanied with live studio vocals and ad-libs
that make you feel like he’s giving you your own personal concert. Titi Me
Pregunto is a chart-topping dancehall-inspired song that slowly morphs into
Bad Bunny’s 2016 trap era beats. Techno and EDM get a revival in El
Apagon, one of Benito’s many politically charged songs about the freedom
of his homeland, Puerto Rico.
No album can truly be perfect, and Un Verano Sin Ti is no exception. At its
best, it is a beautiful departure from today’s manufactured-sounding
reggaeton, and at its worst, it is guilty of being a perpetrator of the same
tendency. You can clearly point out which song was made for the radio and
TikTok dances, and even though the volume of these kinds of tracks is
relatively tiny, you still end up feeling a little confused by the sudden shift in
tone. Party, featuring rising star Rauw Alejandro, is a prime example of this;
it sounds about just as soulless as what its lyrics describe — getting wasted
at the club and, well, partying. Even though getting Jhay and Rauw to be on
the same album was a massive feat, it still feels a little gimmicky and
doesn’t provide as much substance to Un Verano Sin Ti as more obscure
artists like Bomba Estereo or Buscabulla, or even reggaeton legends of old
like Tony Dize with La Corriente.
All in all, we can consider Un Verano Sin Ti to usher in a new era of Bad
Bunny — gone is the underdog who had to prove himself among legends.
Ironically, this album is the one that screams Yo hago lo que me da la gana
the most.
-Shreya Saboo, AS-A.
Another Level Higher 