Aitana has released a new single, ‘4TO 23’. The ‘Alpha’ sound is definitely relegated to the past in this production that fits the style of Aitana’s most pop songs. So much so that it seems like an amalgamation of her albums prior to ‘Alpha’, specifically ‘Spoiler’ and ‘1000 Reasons’. Her usual collaborators, Andrés Torres and Mauricio Rengifo, are once again involved in the composition.
A composition that seems patched together, because ‘4TO 23’ goes from pop-rock to breakbeat, and from breakbeat to pop, from one part of the song to another, without the mixture of styles seeming justified or giving the expected feeling of solidity. From the electric guitars, Aitana moves on to a sound similar to that of Natalia Lacunza, and from there to a more conventional pop-rock.
The mix could work, but in the case of ‘4TO 23’, the production by Valentina López, Andrés Torres and Mauricio Rengifo does not seek to be as elegant as that of ‘Alpha’. On the contrary, ‘4TO 23’ evokes the insipid sound of radio formula.
This is not helped by the impersonal and juvenile lyrics that talk about drinking Don Julio late at night and alternate phrases in Spanglish like “what fucking bad luck” with other supposedly spontaneous ones -paradoxically- like “you’re so handsome and I’m awful.” Let the Don Julio rule.
The video for ‘4TO 23’ was filmed in the famous Muralla Roja designed by Ricardo Bofill and located in Calpe, Alicante. The shots of Aitana recorded behind the glass are reminiscent of those in the video for ‘J’en ai marre!’ by Alizée. Dreaming of Aitana’s chanson-like single, suddenly.
