Aura

A competent if somewhat directionless merengue collection from the remains of a group that has been around for decades. A couple of arrangements, "Rumba" and "Por Ti," really catch fire. "Alo" is amusing and catchy with its repetitive refrain. The rest vacillate between the stiff elegance of early merengue and functional dance music. Nothing is embarrassing outright boring, as one might expect from Latin music industry veterans. The vocal harmonies and horn sections are predictably tight. There are also lots of imaginative introductions, some of which outshine the arrangements they precede. The lead vocals imbue the lyrical pablum with as much character as possible, occasionally mocking their own serious vibrato. All in all, not bad for a family franchise. ~ J. Chandler, Rovi