The Bottom Line
N'Klabe's third album, A Punto De Estallar is a nice, pretty set of tracks that include great vocal harmonies and a lot of soaring, pop-like orchestration. Not as dynamic as their previous album, fans of Puerto Rican salsa romantica can find a lot to like in the album. But if you like your salsa hot, you can skip this CD.
Pros
- Smooth salsa romantica with great vocal harmonies
Cons
- Never really seems to catch on fire
Description
- 11 tracks of Puerto Rican salsa romantica
- Guest artist Voltio
- Released by Sony BMG Norte
Guide Review - CD Review: N'Klabe - A Punto De Estallar
Well, maybe they will, but not with A Punto De Estallar.
Of the 11 tracks on this album, five are salsa ballads, heavy on the ballad and light on the danceable salsa. They're also heavily orchestrated; while the arrangements are excellent, they sound more pop than salsa.
Of more interest is "Zoom,Zoom", a track with more energy and exceptional trumpet rifts by the lead trumpet player. In fact, the entire brass ensemble is great when it is allowed to get away from the orchestral polish. "Bailalo Como Quieras" and "Ponte N'Klabe" heat up the album enough to ensure interest in album #4. "Ella Volvio" may be the best song on the CD and there are two versions of the song. The first is salsa, the second a reggaeton remix and both feature fellow Puerto Rican Voltio.
This album is full of pretty salsa with wonderful vocal harmonies, laid-back tempos and big orchestration. But really I'm not sure that pretty and laid-back are the words that should come to mind when talking about salsa. Maybe they should stop listening to so much Latin Pop.
