El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo

Bad Bunny has made unexpected releases part of his career with great benefit. After many singles and collaborative appearances, he released X 100PRE, his debut long-player, without notice on December 23, 2018. It expanded Latin traps boundaries to the margins of pop, and spent over 100 weeks on the charts, peaking at 11 on the Top 200. He followed with a dozen singles --including his participation on the globally successful remix of Te Bote. In 2019, he and J Balvin released the collaborative party outing Oasis on Mothers Day; it spent 34 weeks in the Top 200. Just before the pandemic shut down the planet, Bunny sneaked out YHLQMDLG on leap day. It reached number two on the Top 200 and spent more than 40 weeks on the chart. He followed three months later with the surprise high-charting remix set Las Que No Iban a Salir. His third full-length of 2020, El Ultimo Tour del Mundo, was another surprise release, appearing on Black Friday in November. It debuted at number one on the Top 200. Comparatively, this 16-track set is his strangest and most adventurous. Its first three tracks -- El Mundo Es Mio, Te Mudaste, and Hoy Cobre -- register seamlessly within Bunnys urbano oeuvre with hooks galore, slick, savvy beats, and reggaeton tropes. He makes his first wide left turn on the Marco MAG Borrero-produced Maldita Pobreza. A true shocker, its arrangement directly recalls the Polices Outlandos dAmor, as it melds punchy new wave and pop reggae onto a trap bridge. Te Deseo lo Mejor is equally exotic. Its a Cure-cum-Cafe Tacuba-influenced take on weepy alt-rock that prefaces the gloomy, trap-laden indie rock of Yo Visto Asi, a strident, beat-laden defense of Bunnys fashion sense. Like its rockist predecessors, it too was produced by MAG with able assistance from riff warrior Mick Coogan, who adds a canny rock flavor to these jams and the Radiohead-inspired ballad (circa The Bends) Trellas. The Tainy-produced La Noche de Anoche, with Rosalia, is one of only three collaborations on the album. Weaving sultry trap beats through moody synths and nocturnal sonics that eerily frame their contrasting voices, its the sets steamiest cut. Dakiti, featuring Jhay Cortez, is shot through with spacy keyboards and classic reggaeton beats juxtaposing the anthemic with the nostalgic. Tainy also produced Sorry Papi featuring Abra. Its atmospheric beginning with sweeping 808s and bright, crunchy beats surrounds the pair in a finger-popping yet soulful, midtempo trap ballad layered with reverbed horns. Bad Bunny doesnt even appear on closer Cantares de Navidad. Its a vintage holiday song by Puerto Ricos historic Trio Vegabajeno (1943-1983). The songs inclusion underscores this musical auteurs commitment to the culture of his homeland no matter how far afield his music travels. El Ultimo Tour del Mundo is Bad Bunnys most adventurous outing. With so much going on, it may take longtime fans a few listens to fully grasp, but the record will ultimately leave its infectious hooks, earworms, and strangeness fully embedded. ~ Thom Jurek