To get an idea of what Gloria Trevi’s new album, Diosa de la Noche (Goddess of the Night), one need only look at the cover art.
The collage of sparkly, glitzy images depicts everything that can happen in a single night. Or, as Trevi herself puts it, “You can live an entire life in a single night.”
We’ll be the first to admit we’re partial to Trevi’s sometimes campy, always smart lyrics and beautiful melodies. Diosa pushes the boundaries, though, inserting big, dramatic elements — like lavish instrumentals, variations of pace and tempo, spoken word and rapping — all to further the storytelling.
This is more than an abum — this is a piece of theater. This made whittling Diosa’s 12 tracks down to five essentials particularly hard. But here goes, with a little help from Trevi herself.
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1. “Diosa de la Noche”: The opening title track sets the stage for this conceptual album (and the current tour). Trevi comes in and tells us the story about a beautiful, perfect girl — a princess — who wants for nothing. But at night, she flees her golden shackles and goes out to look for love and dance. With a mid-tempo dance beat, this could be your next girl power party track.
2. “Mediterráneo (Mediterranean)”: Trevi has never shied from placing her struggles front and center. “Mediterráneo,” a track she co-wrote with Maffio and “speaks to what you feel when the word ‘love’ is simply not big enough,” is about finding triumph in love over adversity. Mixing in spoken word and shouts of encouragement, it dares to play with many elements to get emotions across, marking a departure for Trevi, but a compelling listen as well.
3. “Me Lloras” (feat. Charly Black): Even when she does reggaetón, Trevi manages to not sound like anyone else. “Me Lloras” (You Cry For Me), featuring Jamaican singer Charly Black singing in English, is ballsy and funny and sardonic. We love the crybaby “wa, wa, wa” in the chorus as well as lines like “I’m a sex machine, and also a lady.” “Me Lloras” has reggaetón and dancehall beats, but also Trevi’s melodic pop sensibility to appeal to many listeners and ages.
4. “Ábranse Perras” (Outta My Way Bitches): It’s tough not to love this song after watching the video, where Trevi enjoys life to the fullest along with her drag queen friends. With its mix of disco, ’90s dance and surf guitars, it’s one big cornucopia for the senses.
5. “Que Me Duela” (Make It Hurt): The sound is very ’90s and takes us back to Trevi’s beginnings. Perhaps that’s why this anthemic track — with its layered choruses, underlying dance beats and plethora of dramatic moments magnified in its video, which depicts a vampire queen out for a night of pleasure — is so much fun.
