Quiero decirte que sé que me equivoqué

It occurred to me today that I must love the sound of Denisse Guerrero getting her heart broken. Sure, Fantasía Pop's "One, Two, Three, GO!" has a punky pop-rock charm that's led to me getting "Oye niño, no tengas miedo" stuck in my head several times so far, but I don't think I could stand it if they released an album all in that sound; almost all of my favorite songs by Belanova, the ones that I think have that truly timeless sound, deal with heartbreak and not being with the one you want, whether it's because of a breakup or because you never could have them in the first place. Luckily, few bands can manage to make misery sound as sweet as Belanova without losing the emotional core you'd expect from the lyrics. With this, their third studio album, Belanova has been accused of going too pop, too commercial, and too young, and I could see how "One, Two, Three, GO!" would give you that impression, but the album also contains songs that aren't that far a departure from their sound on Dulce Beat. Like "Por tí," "Baila mi corazón" proves that, when they're on, Belanova can make surrendering to total joy sound just as sweet as they make misery sound, but "Cada que" and "Aún" hint at Belanova's forte: expressing longing. Even "Rockstar," despite its title and somewhat upbeat opening, is another example. Still, the true peak of the album comes midway through and is the song that follows "Rockstar."

Paso el tiempo--I don't think we quite get another song as perfect as "Niño" on this album, but "Paso el tiempo" is the closest we get, and it's possibly a sequel of sorts to it. I'm not sure if anyone else knows how to swoon as perfectly as Denisse; like "Niño," the chorus to this song makes me completely melt. The whole song does, to be honest, with lyrics that are simple but oh so perfect, but the way she uses her voice on the chorus, especially that first sentence--flawless. The chorus comes in two halves, and the opening lines of each half--"Quiero decirte que/sé que me equivoqué" ("I want to tell you that/I know that I was wrong" [or "made a mistake"]) and "Quiero decirte que/nunca te olvidaré" ("I want to tell you that/I will never forget you")--could not be better in sound or meaning. I know they look trite written out like that, but trust me, when sung in Denisse's voice over that synth-pop backing, they for all the world sound like someone has finally captured longing in song...and, surprisingly, it sounds slightly playful and definitely gorgeous--but no less heartbreaking.

And, because I haven't been able to get it out of my head since I first heard it, here's "One, Two, Three, GO!". It's been compared to Avril Lavigne and, though I see where that comparison is coming from--Denisse's voice does take on a schoolyard sort of tone and it does feel rockier--it's still not got the whirling guitar riffs I expect from an uptempo Avril song. It has a great shout-along chorus (opening with that "Oye niño, no tengas miedo" that I've had stuck in my head) and some backing "ohohOHoh"s and "hey! hey! hey!"s. I don't mind them dabbling in this, but, as I said, I hope it doesn't become their dominant style.

To buy Belanova's third album Fantasía Pop, go here (physical) or, if you live in the U.S., it's available on iTunes. After all the raving I did up above, I do feel the need to point out that, in my eyes, there's a good amount of filler on it, but to ignore the best songs on it would mean you're missing out on a lot.

Next up: maybe some dance music.