BEBE – “Pafuera Telarañas”
EMI Latin, 2005

SPAIN – Pop singer/songwriter with strong “crossover appeal”: if the songs were in English this would be indistinguishable from hundreds of other discs aimed at the college market, which must be why it’s charting so well at CMJ... She has a small voice, but it can also be sneering or passionate. There’s a “parental advisory” sticker on the cover, but it’s all in Spanish.

Fo’s Picks: 3, 6, 10, 11, 14, 15

1. 3:45 – starts folky w/acoustic guitar, picks up a mild dancefloor beat
3. 2:56 – folk-rock strut with a cute melody; in English, it would be a US radio hit
5. 3:36 – flamenco-rock: nice Spanish guitar and aching vocal
6. 3:40 – funky ska: mostly relaxed with rapid-fire vocals, faster at the end
7. 3:49 – midtempo chunky rhythm, soulful flowing vocal
8. 3:45 – sunny uptempo samba-ballad, very sweet
9. 3:55 – flamenco mixed with light funk, vocals have some fire
10. 3:49 – very slow and low after-hours ballad, electric piano, emotive vox
11. 3:25 – catchy pop ditty with rapped vox, busy beat, party-music ending
13. 2:52 – depressing filtered vocal solo with static added, switches to distant echo
14. 3:39 – semi-rapped vocal with big synth bassline, disco guitar loops
15. 2:37 – decent flamenco-pop with slightly pissed-off vocals

[Fo] 1/6/06