Editors’ Picks for the Best Albums of 2022
This is a blurb I wrote for the Editors’ Picks for the Best Albums of 2022. Read the whole listicle here.
Illustrated by Isabel Alvarez
Image courtesy of Columbia Records
MOTOMAMI by Rosalía
“Turn, and face the strange, ch-ch-changes,” sang David Bowie on the classic “Changes,” a song that Rosalía cites as inspiration on her latest release, Motomami. The Spanish-born singer sped her way into 2022 with her critically acclaimed third record, embracing the ever-changing life of an artist rising to fame. Over the past three years, Rosalía’s public image rapidly evolved from her roots as a flamenco singer, to a reggaeton hit-maker with the release of songs like “Con Altura'' and “A Palé.” With this album, the art-pop starlet accepted these changes and took a U-turn into different musical styles and genres.
Take the opener “SAOKO,” a braggadocious mixture of jazz, reggaeton, and bachata, accompanied by a heavy synthesizer resembling the revving of a motorcycle. Motorbikes tread throughout the record as a common motif, placing the listener on the back of Rosalía’s metaphoric Harley-Davidson with un-humble lyrics and a fierce attitude.
Thematically, Motomami goes beyond boastful confidence. “COMO UN G” and “G3 NIS” are emotional ballads that see Rosalía reflecting on her past relationships — both romantic and familial. The former reveals how she subverts classic musical tropes so well; metamorphosing a beautiful piano ballad into a music box-like, robotic keyboard croon over a creative use of vocal auto-tune. This record is more diverse than love, however, with other tracks like “CUUUUuuuuuute” and “Bulerías” showcasing the trained vocalist’s bias for the avant-garde with experimental instrumentation and an unexpectedly radical take on modern-pop. The singer returns to her flamenco roots with “Bulerías” through infectious percussion and stellar vocal runs.
Motomami molds and transforms itself: a record where each song effortlessly evolves into the next while being wildly different from the previous. It showcases the ever-transitioning life of Rosalía, while doing it flawlessly.