The Singles Jukebox

There’s little more nontroversial than drinking and being sad…

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Nortey Dowuona: Christian Nodal and my little brother are the same age. Nodal released his first album in 2017, when my little brother was still in high school. And in 2021, when my brother graduated, Nodal introduced the United States at large to norteño/mariachi with “Botella Tras Botella.” Edgar Barrera, who produced it, finally gets to work with both Grupo and Nodal. He blends Nodal’s low, thin tenor, which bellows so brightly it begins to grate, with the low, thin tenor of lead singer Payo Solis, who instead sparkles, gently riding the cresting wave of Alberto Acosta’s bajo quinto, Carlos Zamora’s loping bass and Carlos Guerro’s gentle, nimble drums. When they blend together for the chorus, they’re unstoppable, but Nodal’s abortive first verse displays little of the jawdropping talent that brought him to the fore. Solis gets more time to shine, but then ably surrenders the mic to Nodal, who finally seizes his opportunity, his voice sparking to life at last, the song soaring for a brief split second, before Julian Peña Jr. ambles out from behind the congas to remind them  there are other collaborations to be done. My brother is now working in a restaurant, hopefully making better choices than Nodal is.
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Mark Sinker: Checking up on young Christian since we last wrote about him I see he has somewhat dedicated his life to the topic here (and indeed the topic of the previous release we discussed) = the dumb shit you do when you’re drunk. Like dialing that former someone or getting a tattoo. Christian has many tattoos, some adorable (the moon) and some inadvisable, such as his ex’s eyes indelibly depicted on his chest: ? ? ? Meanwhile the gently undulating, pulsating, staggering beat is a testament to how good stewed-you can feel as you commit further very bad choices, in that friendly bar-room space where everything seems so very delible. 
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Ian Mathers: Having looked up the English translation of the lyrics, I’m just going to pretend this is an extremely scathing, cross-genre, long after the fact response song to the Pet Shop Boys’ “You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk.”
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John S. Quinn-Puerta: It can be difficult to hit the tone of crying in your beer just perfectly, almost too easy to drift into irony. But it’s that combination of pedal steel, note-perfect accordion, and the end-of-chorus resolving couplet that truly elevate this for me. I could see myself singing along late into the night, if there was enough Don Julio to accompany me.
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Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Morose, lovesick men have always sung songs like this (references to Don Julio and liking old Instagram photos aside) and I suppose they always will. At least this one has some really good accordion! 
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Joshua Minsoo Kim: The intermittent accordion is perfect, just the right amount of sweet fluttering to provide temporary solace. Drinking your sorrows away is fine and good, but it requires a chorus like this: easy to sing along to, swinging back and forth as you get the right amount of tipsy. It captures an oscillating desire: bursting into tears and staying composed. When men are sad like this, it’s often about that balance.
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