As half of the Puentes Brothers, Alex Cuba is a Juno winning Latin musician. His work with his brother Adonis was a mix of traditional Cuban music and North American pop sensibilities. Alex's solo work has been slowly moving in a more pop-driven direction for years now, and Healer is his most unabashed pop album yet. It's pretty clear this album is meant to be his first serious foray into commercial radio. The first single has Top 40 radio written all over it. “In 1 2 3 4” is mostly in English, featuring a duet with rising pop-star David Myles, and having a laid-back Latin summer vibe to it, perfect for late night summer parties in the backyard. He's also teamed up with other rising stars, Kuba Oms and Alejandra Ribera, for other mostly English-sung, Latin-tinged pop tunes. The more Latin feeling songs are Alex's solo songs, sung in Spanish, but even these seem to have a token Latin percussion or guitar in them to set them apart from the usual pop strains. His duet with Canadian legend Ron Sexsmith, “Half a Chance”, shows a subtle texture lacking on the rest of the album, and is the most satisfying song on the album. If you're looking for a Canadian alternative to Enrique Iglesias, Healer might be your album. Otherwise, compared to past work, this seems pretty disappointing.

By Steve Marlow
Jun 28, 2015