Javiera Mena is an artist that I found during a search on Spotify for “other artists”. I followed her on Twitter because my first impression was that I could like her. Now as I am moving forward into album reviews on a more regular basis, I decided to put her album, which was released in 2014 on my list to give an in-depth listen and review.
Going track by track, the first track “Los Olores De Tu Alma” has been added to our Mixed Tape for January as it is the song that is gonna make you want to take a deeper listen too. The music seems to be club-like and has a great bounce and rhythm.
“Otra Era”, again is a slower upbeat pop song that has a space-like feeling to it. Her voice is light and airy which makes her a good listen for early morning rise and shine. Sometimes you have to think about when would be good times to listen to the song to connect.
Already in track three, “Esa Fuerza” doesn’t skip a beat with the dance rhythms. It is almost disco-like but still definitely club music. I don’t think at this point that with at least the first three songs that this girl couldn’t go far in the club scene if given the right promotion.
While I listen some more… I will tell you a little more about Javiera Mena. She is Chilean, born in Santiago, and is just 30 years old when this album came out. “Otra Era” is the third studio album for this electropop singer, who first hit the scene in Chile’s indie music market in 2001 with her first album. She promoted a lot on places like MySpace in order for her to get her music out to a wider audience. But when she was listed as iTunes “Single of The Week” in 2010… It seems that people are just now recognizing her music.
I am now four songs in and I am really enjoying this album. Where has this girl been that I didn’t notice before? The music has not slowed down one bit and I believe that if the music continues the way it is going, it might become one of my favorites. One of my issues with this album, and actually her, in general, is that her music on physical media is not readily available. I went looking for this album to purchase, it’s not available on Amazon, nor from a private seller on eBay either. As a fan of physical media whether it be CD or vinyl, hell… even cassette, I feel a little jilted. This album is available on iTunes for those digital lovers.
So far my favorite song on the album is “Que Me Tome La Noche”, which is serious pop music. It has such a catchy chorus and makes you want to turn it up. Great song for getting ready in the morning and starting your day.
Overall, “Otra Era” is a fabulous album that I am enjoying listening to and she has the potential to be a strong performer on Top 40 radio if someone would give her a break. If someone actually has this on CD, I want it!!! I need a real CD or vinyl of this album. And NOW!
2021 UPDATE: There has been a lot of time that has past since the original article was written in 2015. It has given me a chance to seriously digest this artist and album. Since the writing of the review, I can say this is one of my favorite albums I own. I believe it to be one of the best album in 2014. Since then, Javiera Mena has released more music and as we update this website, we hope to be able to dig into those albums and share them with you.
Since that day, I have been study Latin pop and rock music and have become a Latin pop music historian through the publishing of articles, fanzine, and websites. My goal is to teach people about Latin pop music and the history behind it with my website, Siempre En Domingo.
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Congratulations for the blog, it’s like an encyclopedia!
Regarding this album, you might have a chance of getting a physical copy from latiendanacional.cl.
Let me also recomend you to give a listen at her other albums, you will see what a progression and how talented she is. Master of pop!
Thank you. I own the album digitally and yes, it will be added soon to a physical format. We will be getting to her older catalog sometime. So much music, so little time.