Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda
42 18
Album · Música Mexicana · 2025
Representing the contemporary vanguard of his chosen norteño genre, Julión Álvarez maintains a brisk release pace with his band. Focused primarily on romantic matters, with a certain fixation on love lost, 42 18 continues the Chiapas-bred singer’s resurgence with relatable emotional heft. Much of the material here is previously released, on EPs like 2024’s similarly obsessed ¿Quién?, yet this 10-track effort collects and curates it in timely fashion—less than a week after Valentine’s Day 2025—in the cold aftermath of the holiday’s glow. Big, brassy cuts like the heartbroken pair “Safo En El Amor” and “Ya No” let the instruments sing as much as their bandleader does. Such themes sit on the chest like great weights as Álvarez belts his existential pain out on “Noches Amargas.” In contrast with some of the more dire songs, fresher ones like “Dueña De Mis Besos” and “Tesoro” offer up hope of love’s power to heal and redeem.
42 18
Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda
Representing the contemporary vanguard of his chosen norteño genre, Julión Álvarez maintains a brisk release pace with his band. Focused primarily on romantic matters, with a certain fixation on love lost, 42 18 continues the Chiapas-bred singer’s resurgence with relatable emotional heft. Much of the material here is previously released, on EPs like 2024’s similarly obsessed ¿Quién?, yet this 10-track effort collects and curates it in timely fashion—less than a week after Valentine’s Day 2025—in the cold aftermath of the holiday’s glow. Big, brassy cuts like the heartbroken pair “Safo En El Amor” and “Ya No” let the instruments sing as much as their bandleader does. Such themes sit on the chest like great weights as Álvarez belts his existential pain out on “Noches Amargas.” In contrast with some of the more dire songs, fresher ones like “Dueña De Mis Besos” and “Tesoro” offer up hope of love’s power to heal and redeem.
