Throughout the 2000s, the Mexican music scene turned a recreation of niches, with every style rising their respective crowds with few possibilities of crossing over. Nevertheless, one digital trio managed to search out their followers inside many various camps, changing into one of many definitive acts of the period, and virtually 20 years later, made probably the most unlikely comebacks in Mexican music historical past. Belanova launched Dulce Beat, their second album, in 2005 — a synthpop album influenced as a lot by what we now name “indie sleaze” in addition to predicting mainstream music that may dominate the late-’00s — Kesha, Girl Gaga, and Katy Perry, to call just a few. Their singles like “Por Ti” and “Rosa Pastel” turned chart hits in addition to cult favorites. Whereas the band couldn’t transcend their momentum, within the early 2020s, social media helped a brand new era uncover Belanova, sparking appreciation for a band that, as a lot because it represented its personal time interval, proved to be timeless.
Belanova was fashioned within the 12 months 2000 by Denisse Guerrero, Ricardo Arreola, and Edgar Huerta within the Mexican metropolis of Guadalajara. Arreola had been a member of funk rockers La Dosis through the Mexican rock heyday, whereas Guerrero and Huerta have been youthful and fewer skilled. Their ardour for digital music led them to kind Belanova, signing to an indie label, Virus, and releasing their debut album, Cocktail. After signing with Common, this led to their single “Tus Ojos” changing into an enormous hit in Mexico.
The music scene and Cachorro López
Latin pop music was in a transitional interval again then; the largest ’90s pop stars have been nonetheless ruling the charts whereas the following era was but to make their mark. Then again, the Mexican rock scene, which had change into an enormous market, had dwindled right down to producing just some main new acts. Digital music — whereas widespread in its personal area of interest — had but to change into a serious business power. There have been few artists like Belanova again then, they usually seized their uniqueness to make their mark.
In 2005, they launched Dulce Beat. The album was produced by Cachorro López, a veteran who helped break rock en español into the mainstream by producing highly effective but melodic albums by Miguel Mateos, Caifanes, and even pop stars like Stephanie Salas and Diego Torres. López as soon as described himself thusly: “I’m not an artist, I’m like a song craftsman.” This high quality helped him land a few of his greatest hits as a producer, serving to Julieta Venegas and Natalia Lafourcade zero in on their respective uniqueness as singers and songwriters and harnessing that right into a chart-topping goldmine, as heard on heartfelt and melodic albums — if harmonically completely different — like Venegas’s Sí and Lafourcade’s Hasta La Raíz.
The album
Dulce Beat equally breaks away from the group’s previous, embracing all kinds of sounds, specializing in punchy rhythms and probably the most memorable melodies in concise songs that hardly transcend the three:30 mark. Lyrically, Guerrero goes the confessional route, speaking about love and heartbreak with a melancholic bent that provides a lot of the songs on Dulce Beat pathos, even throughout its brightest moments.
The album opens with “Niño,” a music that demonstrates what electroclash would have gave the impression of if it ever crossed paths with emo — hurried beats and shiny synth strains are the springboard for earnest emotions and massive choruses from Guerrero’s excessive voice register. “Rosa Pastel” is outlined by its glam rock stomp and shiny choruses with lyrics like “And everything ended / there’s nothing left / we’ll be two strangers / I’ll forget you / you’ll forget me / so long,” maybe making it their defining second as artists. “Mírame” embraces a conventional bossa nova sound, with mild plucked guitar chords and beautiful percussion, with occasional synth strains to provide the music a recent texture. “Miedo” appears to orbit the identical galaxy as bands like Metric, with a guitar riff commanding the observe round Guerrero’s sassy supply swinging across the groove. “Escena Final” appears to use the Depeche Mode formulation into a distinct method, with darkish synth chords across the verses, whereas keyboard strains uplift every part as they seem. “Por Ti” boasts the largest hooks on the entire album — from intertwining melodic strains that lead into an explosive singalong. Even an apparent experiment like “Sexy” — with its over-the-top supply and lyrics — possesses sufficient attraction and catchiness to be satisfying.
Whereas Cocktail had been successful, nothing might put together Belanova for Dulce Beat’s affect. “Por Ti,” “Me Pregunto,” “Rosa Pastel,” and “Niño” turned huge radio hits, coming into the Billboard charts whereas protecting the album there for months. It broke the band past Mexico, harnessing fanbases within the U.S., Argentina, Chile, and Spain, the place they toured. The album was licensed double platinum in Mexico.
It was additionally a smash with the critics. AllMusic’s Jason Birchmeier wrote: “There’s no single quality that makes these songs so magnetic; rather, it’s a combination of Guerrero’s pixieish voice as well as her baby-doll swagger, Huerta’s swirling layers of soft-hued electronics, and Arreola’s driving basslines, not to mention the Midas touch of Cachorro López.” Rolling Stone México’s Alex Carranco praised the album, saying that “it was a challenge for Belanova to surpass their past with this album where, fortunately, they didn’t shed their unique style; rather, there was an upgrade in the production department, with arrangements that engage our attention in each song.”
Belanova launched their follow-up in 2007. Fantasía Pop noticed them staff up once more with Cachorro López. It paid off with one in all their greatest hits, “Baila Mi Corazón.” Whereas the album had a stellar opening week — reaching No. 1 in Mexico and gold standing shortly after, in addition to successful them a Latin Grammy for Greatest Pop Album by a Duo or Group With Vocals in 2008 — it didn’t fairly match its predecessor’s success. Steadily, the band’s gross sales declined whilst they stored working till 2018, after they went on hiatus.
Issues modified in 2023, nonetheless, when social media helped them discover a new era of followers. “Rosa Pastel” turned a trending music on TikTok, with younger followers making movies utilizing “Rosa Pastel” to specific disappointment with their love and even skilled life. Quickly it went viral past the net, with speculations of a return of Belanova to the stage, which lastly occurred in 2024 with appearances at festivals in Los Angeles and Mexico Metropolis.
Belanova managed to do one thing few artists can: outline their period and make timeless music. Maybe their greatest contribution to Latine music is that, armed with songs as catchy as those discovered on Dulce Beat, one can go supernova a number of occasions.
Purchase Belanova’s music on vinyl now.
