El Mundo Se Equivoca

Album review

The exceptional success of Flores de Alquiler (2004) -- an album that spawned four major hits and remained firmly lodged in the upper reaches of the Latin album charts for a couple years, all the way until mid-2006 -- couldn't have been easy for La Quinta Estación to follow up. Yet the Mexico-by-way-of-Madrid rock en español trio indeed came up with a satisfying follow-up album, El Mundo Se Equivoca, that duplicates much of what made Flores de Alquiler so successful without sounding like a blatant retread. Certainly, the bright and upbeat "Tu Peor Error" kicks off the album with as much horn-tinged zest as "El Sol No Regresa" did Flores de Alquiler; the soaring singalong hook of "Para No Decirte Adios" stands out several songs in, not at all unlike how the hook of "Daría" also stood tall several songs in; and the following song, the spare ballad "Sueños Rotos," is a sure show-stopper that likewise soars vocally, just like "Algo Más," sequenced as it was right after "Daría." Yet there are enough differences between these songs, not to mention the remainder of El Mundo Se Equivoca and Flores de Alquiler, that likely only a critic would draw these lines of comparison. And besides, if it's not broke, don't fix it, right? So rest assured that everything wonderful about Flores de Alquiler remains wonderful here, though the element of pleasant surprise that made that previous album such a charm no longer applies. Quite the contrary, in fact: as wonderful as El Mundo Se Equivoca may be, one can't help but measure it up to the heights of Flores de Alquiler, a challenging prospect that courts disappointment. So, keeping this in mind, it's best to take El Mundo Se Equivoca for what it is -- an album of first-rate Latin pop -- without relating it to its predecessor too unfairly. If you want to draw those comparisons, however, account for these factors: "Sueños Rotos" is a striking song, but it falls short of the magic that made "Algo Más" so special; El Mundo Se Equivoca doesn't rock quite like Flores de Alquiler did, as the band's major asset, vocalist Natalia Jiménez, is moved further into the spotlight and often dressed up with strings; and lastly, don't overlook the closing song of El Mundo Se Equivoca, "Así Eres," which might be the best song on the album and is a key X-factor differentiating this album from its lustrous predecessor.

© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo