Gordo has varied taste. The producer teased this variety during a Rolling Stone profile, and assured fans that they would get to hear it on his solo album, DIAMANTE. Well, the album has arrived, and Gordo lived up to his word. The album is one of the most wide-ranging of the year in terms of genre. There's a blend of dance, reggaeton, rap, and R&B playing out on each track here, and it's a testament to Gordo's talent that he pulls these disparate strains together into something cohesive. The opener, "Guard Down," is the album in microcosm. It's simultaneously a dance floor banger and a slow burn love song with vocals from Alice Aera.
We've already singled out the standout Drake collabs on the album, "Sideways" and "Healing." Despite being the biggest feature on the album, Drizzy blends seamlessly into Gordo's global sound. "Sideways" in particular, is an obvious candidate for lead single. DIAMANTE shines even brighter, though, when the producer tweaks the signature sound of his guest features. T-Pain's voice is altered to the point of being unrecognizable on the yearning track "Target." Larry June, meanwhile, ditches soul chops to pontificate over Gordo's busy drum pattern on "Lake Como." Leon Bridges sounds refreshed over a contemplative musical bed on "Candid Zone," and Maluma takes a nocturnal left turn on the busy "Pareca." Gordo has the chops to make each of his collaborators shine, and the result is the most eclectic mainstream album of 2024. It's going to be hard to top it.
DIAMANTE tracklist:
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You know what you're getting.
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