Willfully losing yourself while on the road is a common and effective way of dealing with the onset of depression, and while that's just what Guatemalan singer/songwriter
Ricardo Arjona
did after the death of his mother, the resulting album
Viaje
is much more sweet than sour. After "Lo Poco Que Tengo" opens the album as a multiculti ray of sunshine (
Arjona
's Guatemalan pop meeting the easy California sway of the '70s), ballads like "Cavernicolas" (wistful) and "Apnea" (heartbreaking) bring on the heavier emotions, although there's always some hope packed into these moving songs. Little touches from outside genres reflect the album's theme of travel, and being issued on the singer's own
Metamorfosis
label makes it feel all the more intimate. Consider this small and sure effort one of the artist's most personal albums and approach with an open heart, and maybe a box of tissues. ~ David Jeffries