Renovatio, the fifth studio album of new material by
Antonio Orozco, is another impressive album by the Spanish singer/songwriter on which he collaborates with multi-instrumentalist producers
Xavi Pérez and
Tato Latorre.
Orozco collaborated with
Pérez and
Latorre on each of his previous studio albums:
Cádizfornia (2006),
El Princio del Comienzo (2004),
Semilla del Silencio (2001), and
Un Reloj y una Vela (2000). Clearly, these guys have a winning formula, with
Orozco writing the songs and singing them while
Pérez and
Latorre bring the music to life, giving it a well-polished contemporary Latin pop sheen. Though the music is fairly typical for commercially oriented pop/rock, there are enough flamenco touches in the rhythms and the vocals of
Orozco to make Renovatio unmistakably Spanish in style. In some ways,
Orozco could be likened to a Spanish version of
Juanes, albeit without the guitar heroics and the humanitarian world-view in his lyrics. Renovatio, whose title translates to Renovation in English, isn't so much a reinvention of
Orozco's music as it is a refinement. Whereas
Cádizfornia featured several guests and found
Orozco experimenting with different styles (e.g., the skittering programmed rhythm track of the hit single "Tres Corazones"), Renovatio finds him going it alone and sticking with straightforward pop/rock for much of the album. Only during the latter half of the album, once the highlights subside, does
Orozco start experimenting, and even then there are few surprises and they're mild at that (e.g., the stripped-down piano ballad "Ya Lo Sabes," the synthesizers that pop up laser-like during the chorus of "Un Lugar"). The highlights that open the album include "Qué Me Queda," "Llévatelo," and "Pasó," all great songs that are among
Orozco's best work to date. ~ Jason Birchmeier