Caraballo

We have seen this before. It happened with Morrissey. It happened with Carlos Berlanga. And of course, it happened with John Lennon. Inspired minds within collective groups seek out their own paths, apart from the environment that helped them grow as artists and creators. Carlos Caraballo uses introspection and personality where there was partying and celebration in his Colectivo da Silva. And he lays it out on his marvelous debut album, mapping out the history of pop, a treatise for atypical post-millennials, a tete a tete with his listeners. And, of course, for a project like this, he used his own name. Since we mentioned Lennon, isn't there something of the Beatles in that "Nube Negra" that opens the album and closes the storm? "Dejame Vivir" is a synthesis of the album: bedroom pop, digi-core, a bit of lounge, hyperpop and a huge, unexpected hit as big and surprising as a roller coaster. "Atras En El Tiempo" is the soft middle, the proof that there are no tricks: it's him, these are his melodies, his stories, his timeless choruses - it's pop. "No Me Importa" has the perfect touch of funk, just the right breath of soul, the programming that decorates the rooms of our solitude, the chorus that makes North American R&B groups sigh. "Vacio" is folk, it's Sufjan Stevens, it is a declaration of all of this coming straight from the heart. "Tu Punal" is a shockingly perfect pop hit.