Reyli bares his soul once again on
Qué Vueltas da la Vida, his third solo album and most well-rounded to date. Whereas his first,
En la Luna (2004), was mostly romantic in tone and his second,
Fé (2007), was introspective,
Qué Vueltas da la Vida concerns itself with general matters of life and the changes that one experiences over the course of it.
Reyli is one of Mexico's finest songwriters and has a penchant for putting himself into his lyrics, so it's curious to ponder how much of this album is autobiographical and how much is made up. In any event, there's a lot of truth about life in the lyrics to which listeners can relate, be it autobiographical or not. Those who preferred the romantic inclination of
En la Luna and its smash hit single "Amor del Bueno" to the introspective inclination of
Fé will be happy to encounter a couple great love songs on
Qué Vueltas da la Vida, namely "La Verdad," about the love of one's life, and "Cásate Conmigo," about marriage. Another highlight is the lead single "¿Qué Nos Pasó?" Like its predecessor,
Qué Vueltas da la Vida is produced by
Andrés Castro, a veteran guitarist from Columbia most closely associated with
Carlos Vives.
Castro is not only credited with producing
Qué Vueltas da la Vida, he's also credited with instrumentation, arrangements, and co-writing four of the songs. With
Castro at the helm,
Reyli showcases his versatility as a vocalist, singing a mix of ballads, rockers, and rancheras.
Qué Vueltas da la Vida is another impressive effort by the former
Elefante frontman. It's less commercially oriented than
En la Luna, which was tailor-made for Latin pop radio, and more well-rounded than
Fé, which was a bit too inward focused for its own good. For all its merits, however,
Qué Vueltas da la Vida isn't likely to win back any disaffected
Elefante fans who still pine for a return to the straight-ahead rock en español with which
Reyli got his start back at the turn of the century.