Andrea Echeverri (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Andrea Echeverri (vocals, guitar, gaita, accordion, marimba, palmas); Andrea Echeverri (percussion); Héctor Buitrago (guitar, bajo sexto, keyboards, bass instrument, programming, palmas); Rodrígo Mancera, Alejandro Gomescasseres (guitar); Andrés Alvarez (keyboards); Roberto Cuao (percussion); Gabriel Rondon (guitar); Thom Russo (programming).

Recording information: Entrecasa, Bogota, Colombia.

Photographers: Andrea Echeverri; Rodrigo Facundo.

Unknown Contributor Role: Nadine Vasquez.

After more than a decade at the front of Aterciopelados, Colombian alt-rock darling Andrea Echeverri has her own self-titled solo release -- sort of. At her side for most of the 12 original songs is bandmate and producer Héctor Buitrago, and though there's arguably a little bit more honey rounding out Echeverri's characteristically ethereal vocals, fans can expect to groove to the same brand of Latin chill they loved on Gozo Poderoso. That's because no one is talking about breaking up the band. Unlike most solo efforts, designed to put distance between the old crowd and a newly inflated celebrity ego, Andrea Echeverri summons bandmates and friends together to help give voice to an experience that reordered the artist's life and priorities forever. "It was love before first sight," she says in "Amniótico" of her infant daughter, "love at first kick." While paying too much attention to the lyrics -- which detail everything from diaper changes to breast feeding -- can make the listener feel like a peeping Tom, these nonetheless describe a love that swells to fit the whole universe inside. Musically, too, there are some lovely moments of inclusion and playful participation. In "Lactochampeta," a quirky lullaby produced by Echeverri's partner, José Manuel Jaramillo, the weird little pops and whistles layered over the song's steady maternal beat are made with rattles and other baby toys. "A Eme O" has such an infectious hook that it merits an uptempo bonus track reprise. And in "Imán," strings play a rollicking, folky refrain while a deliriously happy mother promises her child the world. The words take on emotional resonance as you begin to distinguish a second voice answering Echeverri's own. Back and forth the voices call, finishing in unison. "I'll feed you," promises Amparo Arias de Echeverri, the singer's mother. "And I'll give you your name" answers the daughter. ~ Jenny Gage minimize