The Singles Jukebox

Can Miguel persuade us to love these Argentinians?

[Video][Website]
[4.83]

Juana Giaimo: “It’s so obvious that Miguel has a much better voice,” my sister told me when we listened to this song on the radio. Suddenly, Miguel’s smooth and genuine vocals contrasted with Dante and Emmanuel Horvilleur almost indistinguishable voices, both rigid and with little warmness in a song that needs it. Miguel’s contribution saves “Estrella Fugaz,” but I still wish the duo would have invited him to one of their funkier songs. They aim to reach the sexual and introspective lyrics of Miguel’s Wildheart, but they use rather empty images that are hard to interpret. If this is how Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas pretend to be taken more seriously, I’ll keep listening to “Ula Ula.”
[5]

Tim de Reuse: A love letter to crisp ’90’s alt-rock production, here bolstered with a delightfully hazy, drunk screech that passes for a bass underneath distantly twinkling guitars. Maybe the overarching sentiments are melodramatic — frankly, the oversaturated sincerity of the “oh-oh-ohs” in the chorus quickly ruin the fleeting sense of cool that the rest of the song tries to build up — but at least it’s not totally heartless.
[6]

Iain Mew: This is one of those where my reaction to much of the song is an irrelevant afterthought to some of the noises in it. The synths in the verses that resemble some kind of warning siren are presumably deliberately abrasive, but they’re a welcome respite from the far worse guitar sound blowing sad raspberries throughout.
[3]

Thomas Inskeep: A lightly skanking rhythm, some fuzzy electronics, a Lenny Kravitz-esque guitar solo, and a cameo from Miguel all add up to something that should be able to find a home on US AAA and alt-rock radio. But since the Argentinian duo (and Miguel) are singing in Spanish, it sadly won’t, which is the US’s loss.
[6]

Will Adams: Apart from that fuzzy synth belching in the verses like the “Pony” bass, “Estrella Fugaz” is a limp power ballad without much to say. Hey, Wildheart was only a year ago.
[5]

Alfred Soto: Miguel and Illya Kuryaki have each written respectable power ballads on their own; together they’ve written — well, something, but forgot the power. 
[4]