‘Sex and Love’ has been a lot time coming for Enrique Iglesias fans, but they can rest assured now that it is here! The Spanish/English album has been more than three years in the making, and has been preceded by five singles and two promotional singles. Let’s hope that all of the hype generated in the past nine months gives the Spaniard the sales and chart figures he needs to make up for the delays!
The album kicks off with the current single release ‘I’m A Freak,’ featuring past collaborator Pitbull. Produced by The Cataracs, this dance-pop and electro-house song has an unusual beat but lacks memorability. It sounds more like it belongs on a restaurant CD rather than something you would hear in the nightclubs of Miami. Unfortunately, not even Pitbull can save this song. It is followed by ‘There Goes My Baby,’ which encompasses a Caribbean vibe, with a little urban help from Flo Rida. While it’s not the best song on the album, it seems like it would be more of a hit that ‘I’m A Freak’.
It is with ‘Bailando’ that a true sense of authenticity starts to emerge. Iglesias performs this song in Spanish, backed by a guitar lick with Latin string and percussion beats. Despite not being able to understand anything that the singer is saying, the listener feels more of a connection to this song than the previous two. ‘El Perdedor’ was confirmed by Iglesias to have been written over eight years ago, but he was waiting for the right time to release it. This downtempo Latin pop track, which translates as ‘The Loser,’ is a stripped back and emotional take on the theme of being rejected for someone else.
‘Loco’ continues the Caribbean theme by incorporating the musical style of Bachata, a genre that originates from the Dominican Republic. It has a bouncy, low-key drum beat with smooth vocals. Things then take a bit of a U-turn, as we’re back with another Pitbull collaboration called ‘Let Me Be Your Lover,’ which sounds like a rework of ‘I’m A Freak.’ However, Iglesias’ falsetto vocals and the ever popular hook “Na, na, na, na, na,” help to make the song more memorable than the other.
‘Heart Attack’ has an experimental sound to it, combing elements of rock, electro and dubstep in the chorus. It is without doubt the best of the English language on the album, with its heartfelt lyrics about feeling as though you have been hit really hard when you lose someone. ‘Me Cuesta Tanto Olivarte’ and ‘Noche y DÃa,’ once agin feel like they are coming from a real and more organic place than the English language songs.
While there are definitely some good songs on ‘Sex and Love,’ it is only the Spanish language songs that have any appeal or true identity to them. On the other hand, the English language songs sound like they are trying too hard to follow the trend and be too commercial. As a result, the album in its entirety feels as though it is having an identity crisis and is generally confusing to listen to. It’s unclear which market this album is being aimed at, and is almost trying to cover all areas of both his national and international audiences by trying to give them a bit of everything. Perhaps he would have been better off releasing an English language album which a more pop and urban commercial sound, and then a Spanish language album to cater for his Latin roots.
