Solamente pienso en ti y en lo estúpida que fui

The new single from Mexican pop band Belanova is almost all anyone could want from them.

01 Nada de Más by poppostergirl

Full of upbeat synths that dance and sparkle but retain a gentle feel to them, "Nada de más" splits the difference between songs like "Baila mi corazón," the uptempo lead single for their third album, and songs like "Paso el tiempo" and "Niño," which set their lyrics about loss set to swoony melodies and beats.

It showcases the best side of the group's music: how they mix the cute with the beautiful. Denisse's girlish voice is backed by beats that manage to be cute without sounding small or bleepy--the opposite, in fact: the group creates full, colorful, electronic soundscapes. The simple verses of "Nada de más" find the narrator brushing off the idea that anything is unusual or noteworthy in her life before, in the chorus, making a tiny little confession: she can't stop thinking about her former love. It's framed in a straightforward but heart-tugging way:

Solamente pienso en ti (I only think about you)
Y en lo estúpida que fui (And about how stupid I was)
Al pensar, al soñar, que ibas a regresar (To think, to dream, that you would return)
Al creer, que tal vez, un día ibas a volver a mí (To believe that, maybe, one day you would come back to me)

That girlish, coy voice of Denisse's brings an added poignancy to the song's story--she sounds so young that all of this bears the rush of your first teenage heartbreak, but the grown-up way she knowingly plays with those words conveys someone who's been though enough to know she should know better. It's all the intensity of puppy love with just a hint of the frustration of a cynic angry at herself for taking chance, wrapped up in in a romantic tone and joyful beats.

My only complaint is that Denisse, equally capable of using her voice to make me go weak at the knees or stressing it into sounding too nasal, leans a little too close to the latter in the middle eight. Usually the big climax and final adlibs are, thanks to her singing, my favorite part of these sorts of Belanova songs, but "Nada de más" doesn't quite reach the heights of the aforementioned "Paso el tiempo" and "Niño" in that regard.

That's nitpicking, though. "Nada de más" is an excellent example of one of our most cherished musical forms: danceable songs about heartbreak. It's adorable and moving, catchy and beautiful, youthfully intoxicating and smartly made--proof that none of the best traits of music are mutually exclusive.

"Nada de más" can be purchased from U.S. digital music stores like Amazon and iTunes. It's the lead single for the band's fourth album, Sueño Electro I.

In love and it's so overrated

Newsbreak:

Mexican group Belanova's new single, "Nada de más," comes out August 2, apparently. You can listen to a clip below. It sounds pretty fantastic, but then again, I would expect nothing less for the lead single for their new album, Sueño Electro I.



Swedish singer Nanne's new album, En Rastlös Själ, comes out October 6. It's been preceded by the singles "Otacksamhet" and "I Natt Är Jag Din," with one more, the title track, to be released August 18. The cover of the album is at left and the single cover can be viewed here. Other upcoming Swedish albums you may be interested in: Darin's Lovekiller (August 18), Ola's new album (September 15--at least, that's what I read at one point, but Ola now says that it's only 28 days away), and Robyn's Body Talk Pt. II (September 6 internationally). You should be able to buy all those albums from Bengans, though Ola's album isn't listed yet and it probably makes more financial sense to buy Robyn's album from a music distributor in your home country.

The third proper single from the reformed a1, following on "Take You Home" and "Don't Wanna Lose You Again," is "In Love And I Hate It." It's out August 4 in Norway, but the group has been performing it live recently. If you want an advance feel for what it sounds like, here's one such performance.

You know "Champagne Lemonade," that great new song from upcoming British singer Ed Drewett which I wrote about a month ago? It's co-written by Tim Powell of Xenomania. Now we know why it's so buzzily fun. Unusually, for a song coming from a member of Xenomania that we actually get to hear, its only authors are Tim and Ed.

#20 Belanova, "Paso el tiempo"

Aunque no puedas volver
No es fácil para mí
Vivir sin ti

"Paso el tiempo" was my instant favorite on Mexican group Belanova's third album, 2007's Fantasía pop, and in no small part because I saw it as spiritually the musical and lyrical follow-up to "Niño," my favorite track from their second album. Although it's not quite a perfect match, I like to imagine the story of a girl missing a boy after a wrong decision is part two of "Niño"'s narrative of a girl making the tough decision to leave her boy behind for some opportunity out in the big wide world, wherein the narrator reassures the boy that he'll be OK but knowing all the while she too will be suffering.

When she uses it properly, Denisse Guerrero's voice is still the female voice--maybe just the voice--most capable of making me swoon. Equally able to sound childish or sexy, it's a voice that is best suited for somewhere in between. The band can and has asked her to use it in a Kylie-esque way, and Denisse was able to do so, but for my money she's best suited for songs like this one and "Niño," where pastiche is abandoned and longing and sadness break their restraints and are conveyed through a mid-tempo vocal part over an up-tempo commercial pop soundscape of hyper-cute (but never twee--the electronic production saves it from that) beats. To quote from my original thoughts on the album,

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.

As with "Niño," my favorite part of "Paso el tiempo," the part I live for, is the moment near the song's end where Denisse gets to ad-lib--the song and her voice reach their peak of magic there. Belanova have yet to make an album I adore in full yet, but such is the quality of their best songs that they're one of the most underrated groups out there. Pop literally doesn't get much better than this--it's an overused word, but "Niño" is transcendent.

Find it on: Fantasía pop