Julieta Venegas
Los Momentos

Raise your hand if you remember Julieta Venegas, a Mexican singer-songwriter who briefly appeared in our charts in 2006 with a couple of singles, "Me Voy" and "Limon Y Sal." I would say only me and a couple of others at most, but as far as I'm concerned, it was a stroke of luck to recall this talented and honest artist. Out of pure curiosity, I listened to her latest album, "Los Momentos" from 2013, and it was truly a pleasant surprise. At the time of her ephemeral international boom, I was 16 years old, but Julieta Venegas left a particular impression on me, mainly because she was very different from what was usually played on the radio and TV music channels at the time; in the sound, the way she presented herself, in the whimsical atmospheres of those two well-crafted and subtly ironic music videos. Julieta Venegas was different and fascinated me; she wasn't a rocker or pseudo-dance artist, she wasn't vulgar, hyper-sweet, nor superficially intellectual, and she offered a sunny latin-folk that seemed timeless to me.

The music of Julieta Venegas is light in the truest sense of the word, without pretense or silly "alternative" claims good only for sounding impressive, but unfortunately, it's not the wonder I imagined as a kid. Apart from some good insights in her debut, "Aquì," from '97 and the already mentioned "Limon Y Sal," a pleasant and perfectly executed album, her repertoire wasn't anything memorable, at least until "Los Momentos." With this album, Julieta managed to reinvent herself, significantly changing her sound by abandoning the pop-rock influences of her previous records and especially her characteristic and inseparable accordion, to fully embrace new electronic sounds. A simple and intimate songwriting, along with a characteristically Latin folk-rooted style, remains, but everything is presented with an omnipresent backdrop of synthesizers and new influences ranging from pop-jazz to bossa nova, resulting in an album with a sweet, intimate, and personal sound, flowing with absolute smoothness and ease and marking the definitive consecration of a mature artist who previously expressed her potential only sporadically.

"Los Momentos" is a little marvel in all its components: it is perfectly structured, meticulously curated in melodies and arrangements, you can perceive a very attentive and meticulous sound research work, but despite this, it conveys warmth and spontaneity, along with a beautiful sensation of peace and harmony. Its sound is a mosaic of perfectly interlocking pieces, the constant is a stylistic and vocal approach reminiscent of some lounge music, especially noticeable in "Hoy", relaxed and intimate, whereas in tracks like "Verte Otra Vez", "No Crei", and especially "Te Vi", the contrast between vibrant electronic rhythms placed prominently and a delicate, slightly melancholic singing adds depth and multidimensionality to these simple and crystalline melodies. Despite its consistency and well-defined sounds, "Los Momentos" manages to be a dynamic and proactive album, the orchestral accompaniment of "Por Que?", a suggestive pop/jazz in Latin salsa, harmoniously coexists with the intense "Vuelve" and its hip-hop influences, and the warm, enveloping, and danceable rhythms of "Tuve Para Dar". Even a classic sentimental slow song accompanied by the piano like "Volver A Empezar", the only ballad in the strict sense of the album, manages to be a beautiful demonstration of good taste, balance, and delicacy, as does the soberly retro and theatrical melody of "Los Momentos", which almost seems to have been taken from a Pink Martini album if it weren't for the electronic hues.

In my ideal world, an album like "Los Momentos" would remain at the top of the sales charts for months, and its singles would be played in heavy rotation. Unfortunately, here, Julieta has already had her turn, and it was rather short-lived. Nonetheless, an album with a more international but also less "marketable" sound like this wouldn't garner widespread approval, but for me, it remains a small masterpiece. Its enveloping and delicate sound, suspended between classical and modern, is a crystal-clear example of how one can produce refined pop without inventing bizarre images, mental digressions, and other artificial tricks that critics love so much. A completely new Julieta Venegas, more organic, more complete, a bit like Bic Runga in Mexican salsa but not only that, maybe I'm "slightly" obsessed, but this album, in some ways, reminds me of a hypothetical Kirsty MacColl post-"Tropical Brainstorm", a bit more poised and calm. The singing quite closely resembles it, especially in some moments, and these sounds would have pleased her a lot, I'm absolutely sure, just as they please me.