A Mis 20 by Natanael Cano – New Album Review

Natanael Cano burst onto the scene in the last year or so. He’s been one of the most innovative artists to come out of Mexico in a long time. His 9th (!) album A Mis 20, named after the fact that he’s only 20 is here.

I didn’t realize that this was already his 9th studio album in about 2 years. That’s a wild stat. The fact that he can’t even legally drink in the US and has dropped so many albums is also insane to me.

In his short but prolific career, Cano has developed a very unique sound which he calls corrido tumbando. To put it simply, he combines traditional Mexican sounds with a delivery like a trap artist. It marries the past and present of Mexican music in an innovative way. There isn’t really much comparable to it.

The unique style that Cano has created absolutely works. There isn’t any artist who’s doing something with the same level success that Cano is. Of the songs that stand out are Diamantes, Sin Ti, and Carlitos. I also really enjoyed En El Cielo o En El Infierno. I don’t know that any one of theses songs will breakthrough to the top of the Billboard charts but they’re all worth the listen.

The main problem that affects this album is that most of the songs sound very very similar. It’s a good sound, don’t get me wrong but it almost feels as if Cano is afraid to lean too heavily into either the trap or the traditional Mexican roots of the songs. The guitar work is impressive but, as I said, feels a bit repetitive.

Final Score

Natanael Cano is here to stay. The prolific 20 year old continues to carve out his own space in Latin music, writing his own chapter. Not every song hits and there is a decent amount of similarity between some of the songs but the final product is something unique and addicting.

7.2/10

For a round up of the rest of the music that debuted today, click here.