Dance and Dense Denso is a third studio album by Mexican band Molotov, released on February 25, 2003, through Universal Music Latino.[2] It was produced by Argentine musician Gustavo Santaolalla.
| Dance and Dense Denso | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 25, 2003 | |||
| Studio | Larabee Studios, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | Latin rock,[1] punk[1] | |||
| Length | 38:08 | |||
| Label | Surco, Universal Music Latino | |||
| Producer | Gustavo Santaolalla | |||
| Molotov chronology | ||||
| ||||
The title of the album is in Spanglish (part English and part Spanish), and can be very roughly translated as: "Dance and beat each other out (Dense) intensely (Denso)". The verb "Dar", here is conjugated in an imperative mode of the third person plural. "Dense" is used in several places in Latin America meaning to engage in sexual intercourse, as well as to engage in a fight. Both the title and the cover-art are references to Moshing (slam-dancing), where participants push or slam into each other.
At the 4th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best Rock Album by a Duo or Group with Vocal and "Frijolero" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Rock Song and won Best Short Form Music Video, being the band's first Latin Grammy Award.[3][4] The following year, at the 5th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, two other songs from the album received nominations, both "Here We Kum" and "Hit Me" were nominated for Best Rock Song, with the latter also being nominated for Best Short Form Music Video.[5]
The album peaked at numbers 19 and 10 at the Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums charts, respectively, being the first appearance of the band in the latter chart as well as their highest in the former. It was also certified gold in Mexico and Argentina.
Background
editThe album was recorded from June to September 2002 at Larabee Studios in Los Angeles, United States, with Gustavo Santaolalla as producer and Aníbal Kerpel as associate producer, it was mixed by Robert Carranza at Soundcastle, also in United States, and features a cover designed by Edoardo Chavarín.[6]
The album deals political issues similar to their debut album ¿Dónde Jugarán las Niñas? (1997), the band has said that "we returned to the idea of making songs with a background that affects a lot of people, but it's more hip hop, eighties funk", the album blends humor, with comical song titles such as "Changüich a la Chichona" and "No Me Da Mi Navidad (Punketon)" and social commentary in songs like "Frijolero" about the racism in United States towards Latin American immigrants, "I'm the One" about the difficulties in the relationships of parents and their children and "Que Se Caiga el Teatro" that criticises corruption in governments and politicians.[7][2]
Namely, "Frijolero", which means "beaner" in Spanish, deals with the racism in United States, the use of slurs towards Latin Americans and the involvements of United States within international wars, with the song featuring the lines "escucha entonces cuando digo, no me llames Frijolero, y aunque exista algún respeto, y no metamos las narices, nunca inflamos la moneda, haciendo guerra a otros países" ("listen when I tell you, don't call me a beaner, and even if there is some respect and we don't stick our noses, we never inflate the currency by making wars with other countries"), making clear references to United States, according to the band "Frijolero is an absolutely despective word used by gringos towards Latinos".[7][8] The music video for the song also reflects the critiques towards the country featuring American politicians like George W. Bush hugging the devil while bombs and oil containers fall from the sky.[6] The song faced backlash and censorship from several American radio stations who censored some parts of the song, their label, Universal Music released a censored version of the song under the name "Frijolero (Propina Edit)".[9][7]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
John Bush from AllMusic gave the album four and a half stars out of five writing the with Dance and Dense Denso "it became clear that Molotov rated as one of the best in the rock en español movement's contemporary wing", he continued writing that ""Here We Kum" is a brilliant Spanglish jam, with an infectious singalong chorus ("Here we come and we don't care nacha!"), while the hilarious food-and-sex metaphors of "Changüich a la Chichona" ("I want to get down into your juju bees") show that Molotov have a good handle on tongue-in-cheek humor", the finished the review calling the album "one of the best Latin rock releases of the year".[1]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dance and Dense Denso" |
| 1:52 |
| 2. | "Here We Kum" | Fuentes | 4:14 |
| 3. | "Chandwich a la Chichona (sic)" |
| 3:29 |
| 4. | "No Me Da Mi Navidad (Punketon)" |
| 4:38 |
| 5. | "Noko" | Fuentes | 3:30 |
| 6. | "Frijolero" |
| 3:30 |
| 7. | "E. Charles White" |
| 3:38 |
| 8. | "Queremos Pastel" | Huidobro | 3:12 |
| 9. | "I'm the One" | Ebright | 3:20 |
| 10. | "Nostradamus Mucho (Que Se Caiga El Teatro)" | Fuentes | 2:25 |
| 11. | "Hit Me (Gimme Tha Power II)" | Huidobro | 4:16 |
| Total length: | 38:08 | ||
Charts
edit| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Latin Albums (Billboard)[10] | 19 |
| US Latin Pop Albums (Billboard)[11] | 10 |
Sales and certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina (CAPIF)[12] | Gold | 20,000^ |
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[13] | Gold | 75,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ a b c d Bush, John. "Dance and Dense Denso". AllMusic. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
- ^ a b "Molotov encendió la mecha con "Dance and Dense Denso"". Punta Web (in Spanish). Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ "2003 Latin Grammys winners and the tribute to salsa queen". Top 40 Charts (in Spanish). Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ Gurza, Agustin (August 31, 2003). "Faces to watch at the Latin Grammys". Los Angeles Times (in Spanish). Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ "Latin Grammy Nominations". Los Angeles Times (in Spanish). July 15, 2004. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ a b "Molotov - Dance and Dense Denso". La Higuera (in Spanish). Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ a b c Castillo, Alberto (January 16, 2003). "Arremete Molotov contra "gringos"". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ "MOLOTOV EXPLOTA EN LA FRONTERA". El Tiempo (in Spanish). February 21, 2003. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ "Molotov, la fuerza de la protesta". El Universo (in Spanish). August 17, 2003. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ "Molotov Chart History (Top Latin Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ "Molotov Chart History (Latin Pop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved February 7, 2019. Type Molotv in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Dance and Dense Denso in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.