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Shakira: Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran review – revenge served disappointingly tepid

Despite a hit diss track so withering it affected the stock market and enlivening turns from Cardi B and leading regional Mexican musicians, the Colombian’s wan 12th album washes out her adventurous spirit

There are occasional flickers of the blue-sky-thinking Shakira of yore, in the lyrics of Puntería (which, if the translation provided by the record company is to be trusted, contains the intriguing command “give me your fire, squeeze my buttocks”) and in the moment when Cómo Dónde y Cuándo briefly threatens to transform itself from a We Will Rock You stomp into raging drum’n’bass. But these are scattered moments in an album primarily concerned with strolling through a selection of familiar modern pop styles: some Afrobeats, a big piano ballad (complete with guest vocals by Shakira’s children), a bit of mournful reggaeton on TQG and plenty of wan pop-house of both the EDM-inspired and disco-influenced varieties. The best moments come when Shakira seeks out bands who deal in regional Mexican styles, a sound currently on the ascent in the Americas: Grupo Frontera on Entre Parentésis, and especially Fuerza Regida, who perform a frantic corrido on closer El Jefe.

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