Paulina Rubio - Paulatina (CD)

All Music Guide

Paulina Rubio's decision to return to an allSpanish format for PauLatina might acknowledge the 2002 English crossover attempt Border Girl as a slight misstep, if her latest didn't drop its bits and pieces of Mexican instrumentation and language into such an ambitious and entertaining stew. As its colorfully kinetic, Björklike cover art suggests, PauLatina is all over the place, and usually at a hundred miles an hour. "Baila Que Baila" mashes ringing mariachi guitars into the blips and bytes of an Ashantistyle contempo RB number; there's even a hiphop break to suggest the contribution of a Ja Rule or JayZ. "Quiero Cambiarme" and "Ojalá" take traditional horn blasts and robust supporting harmonies into a wild and disorienting future of neonlight electronica, while the dancefloorready "Algo Tienes"'s bashing percussion and rock guitar would fit nicely on Shakira's Laundry Service. (The track also appears in an instrumental remix format.) Throughout PauLatina, there's an alluring scratchin...ess to Rubio's voice. Is she perpetually on the verge of raucous, contagious laughter? It's a definite that "Alma en Libertad" hijacks the lead riff from John Mellencamp's "Small Town," but it's an equally robust feelgood anthem that's impossible to shake from the brain. Neither the melodies nor the adventurism stops there. The lusty "Dame Otro Tequila" would make a nun thirsty, while the ballad "Mía" is a lush departure from the album's constant kicky beats. PauLatina is sure to please fans of 2000's Paulina. But the feisty, stylistic restlessness at its heart does more for Rubio's crossover potential than the pleasing though ultimately samey beats of Border Girl ever could. - Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide Read more Less