The self-styled ‘Kings of Bachata’ are back with what may be their last bachata-focused album. Aventura’s huge popularity has not been based on a large volume of music, but The Last is so good that bachata fans can only hope it is NOT their last.
The quality of Aventura’s new album seems to have been overshadowed by questions of whether or not the popular urban bachata group is breaking up. There’s the title as well as several tracks on the album that hint at a break-up without clarifying anything; finally, there are the rumors and interviews that the group has given.
It’s pretty clear that Anthony ‘Romeo’ Santos will be pursuing a solo career but the question of whether Aventura will be around to perform, as a group, is still murky.
But with a release this good, the best Aventura has delivered to date, it’s time to talk about the music.
Unlike many bachateros that vocally strong-arm their way through a song, Romeo Santos is a sweet-voiced crooner equally comfortable singing in Spanish or English. About half of the album consists of bachatas sung solo by Romeo while the rest of the group provides instrumental back-up begging the questions: isn’t this already a solo career? Some of Santos’ lyrics deal with the traditional romantic view of love and loss while there’s an edge to others: “Su Vida” is a song about a prostitute accompanied by more of a rock style while “Peligro” rants about a woman who cares about nothing but money.
There’s a change of pace with “Mi Casita.”, done as a salsa and the final “Gracias” which adopts a merengue style with Dominican Giovanny Polanco on accordion.
The two tracks that move into a more urban territory are an effective R&B/rap version of “Spanish Fly” featuring Wyclef Jean and Ludacris, sung in Spanglish, and the break-out single “All Up 2 U” with reggaeton’s Akon & Wisin y Yandel.
If you love bachata, this is an album you will treasure not just as ‘The Last’ but as ‘The Best’ of Aventura.
