Bueninvento cover

Bueninvento

Released

Indie/alt-rock singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas’s second album, released in 2000, is one of the best rock en español albums of its era. She wrote all the material herself except for a cover of Juan Gabriel’s “Siempre en Mi Mente,” and it was produced by a team that included Latin alt-rock kingmaker Gustavo Santaolalla, US-based producer Joe Chiccarelli, and Emmanuel del Real Díaz and Enrique Rangel of Café Tacuba, who also played on the album. Venegas plays guitar, various keyboards (piano, synth, and Wurlitzer), and accordion on the record. The songs are mostly recorded in a fairly conventional indie-rock style, built around guitar and big melodic hooks, with the focus on her clear but passionate voice, but unexpected combinations of instruments (“Casa Abandonada” features accordion, tuba, synth and violin) keep your attention throughout. The version of “Siempre en Mi Mente” starts out set to a ticking drum machine beat, with a bell-like keyboard ringing out at regular intervals, but rises to a powerful chorus.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Closing Time cover

Closing Time

Tom Waits
Franks Wild Years cover

Franks Wild Years

Tom Waits
De Todas Las Flores cover

De Todas Las Flores

Natalia Lafourcade
Jessico cover

Jessico

Babasónicos
Psycho-Head Blow-Out cover

Psycho-Head Blow-Out

White Zombie
Crypt-Style! cover

Crypt-Style!

the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Nueva América cover

Nueva América

Quiero Club
Rio cover

Rio

Aterciopelados
Norman Fucking Rockwell! cover

Norman Fucking Rockwell!

Lana Del Rey
Mer De Noms cover

Mer De Noms

A Perfect Circle
Cuatro Caminos cover

Cuatro Caminos

Café Tacuba
Sur o No Sur cover

Sur o No Sur

Kevin Johansen