Are we more enthused about Latin trap today?
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[4.33]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: Standard reggaeton that finds Anuel AA trying to convince an ex that she’s better off with him than her new lover. His words aren’t particularly persuasive, but this is more about him trying to deal with the breakup than anything else. While “Amanece” gets by on Anuel AA’s desperate vocalizing, producer Haze could’ve added more vibrant synth flourishes to round out the song; the swirling synths that characterize the outro are a tease.
[5]
Katherine St Asaph: A paradox: a seemingly unending, unvarying stretch of vocal blare, and yet when it finally does end, there hardly seemed to have been a song.
[1]
Stephen Eisermann: Anuel is a problematic fave of mine. This mid-tempo reggaeton jam is easy to sway to and even easier to, ahem, love to, but just like casual sex, looking back, you’re left feeling kind of gross and unfulfilled. And trying to break down and process what you’ve done? Yikes. I mean, this man’s fascination with discussing how he likes being inside of his significant others is so weird. Still a bop, though.
[6]
Thomas Inskeep: Sexytime with Anuel AA, which actually sounds at least kind of sexy.
[5]
Nicholas Donohoue: “Amanece” almost hits at the mid-’90s note of being a sunburst bounce while lyrically hitting at something more desperate and even a little perverse, but the Post Malone-esque melodies and diction are similarly lethargic over Latin trap.
[4]
Will Adams: The production’s dark undercurrent — that searing bass sound, similar to something like “Love Me Harder”; those bubbling synths at the end — is appealing, but the song lacks a distinct enough hook to separate it from the verses, and it ends up sounding like a series of repeated sections.
[5]