Bachata is quickly becoming the voice of this generation, as it overtakes merengue as the favored style of the Dominican Republic and her sons and daughters abroad. As emerging young talent continue to favor the genre's transparent, spare rhythm sections and romantic melodies, fans will be blessed with a higher and higher level of quality.
Yoskar "El Prabu" Sarante is among the best singers who claim bachata as their own. Contemporaries of
Sarante, like
Andy Andy or the boys of
Aventura, though trend-setting in their own right, could not stand beside him for sheer vocal prowess.
El Prabu effortlessly commands a mature, rich tone and impressive range typically associated with older artists. Though
Sarante can belt beyond his years, No Es Casualidad on the whole falls into many of the traps typical of the young genre. There is almost no variety in instrumentation, key, tempo, or tonal color, which could be fine for the radio market, but hard on the album buyer. Though it may be difficult to listen to from front to back, this 2002 release offers promise for greatness to come as his style matures. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez