Maneja Beto

Accidentes de Longitud y Latitud

“This album is dedicated to possibility.” That’s more than an opening to the liner notes for Accidentes de Longitud y Latitud. Those words succinctly describe the second album by local Spanish-language pop-rockers, Maneja Beto. There’s no doubt that the musical mixture Maneja Beto conjures is worth a spin. Old-school cumbias, rancheras, and boleros are swirled with electronica, reggaeton, rock & roll, pop, and more. Even a flash of countrified slide guitar appears at the beginning of “Canto Funebre.” Accidentes… is decent, pleasant even, yet the entire disk, heard first to last, sounds like a collection of B-sides. It’s respectable but offers no standouts, no defining pinnacle. What captures attention are Alex Chavez’s lead vocals. Something about his plaintive tenor, arching into falsetto, unites the vintage with the contemporary in a cosmic way. Chavez is most robust on the romantic “Hoy,” and then on “Oye Amigo,” “Alma de mi Alma,” and “El Gusto.” If you want to entice new fans, share Maneja Beto’s superb first album, 2004’s Para que las Paredes no se Aburran. Better yet, take them to a live show.

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This article appears in July 7 • 2006.

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