A black and white setting can’t stifle the ocean waves nor the colorful essence of the melody soundtracking them in the new music video for Caterina J’s “Sin Igual;” instead, I think it should be said that it magnifies the mood of the single beautifully. Much like the other songs it’s joined by in the new record Reborn, “Sin Igual” has a playfulness presented to us from a guarded perspective kept all the more holy by the flamboyant stylization of the harmonies – all of which start and end with Caterina J herself. She’s a wild fire burning out of control in this performance, but if you take a peek at her latest work in Reborn, you’ll find this is a look she’s boasting throughout every stitch of material she’s recently recorded.

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You can tell that the influences Caterina J brings into the studio with her are definitely diverse just by looking at the way songs  like “Rollercoaster,” “Brave” and the title track in Reborn are arranged. Whether the tempo is slow, moderate or even a little brisk for what we might be initially expecting, she always has a way of putting an exotic spin onto even the most barebones of melodies (which is something many of her rivals would spend an entire career trying to figure out how to do). You don’t have to be a professional critic to pick up on how connected she is with the medium around every turn here, but for those who are particular about their pop music, hers is a true diamond in the rough.

There’s a slight hesitation in the way Caterina J broaches the climax in “Blazing Stars” that I would love to hear more of in the future, and while some might look at this as being a bit odd amidst so much swagger in “Sin Igual” and “Brave,” I see it as important to adding some context to the lyricism. She could have put any emotion into these words and offered us something that feels really organic in this specific track, but instead she’s getting downright complicated with her poeticisms in the best way imaginable. There’s overthinking something and then there’s being elaborate with an already brilliant theme, which is precisely the case in Reborn.

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I wasn’t listening to Caterina J before I got into Reborn this January, but having fell in love with these five songs right out of the box I would be lying if I said I wasn’t going to keep her on my radar throughout 2021. There isn’t a lot of certainty as to whether or not we’re going to see any live music in the near future, but while a return to the concert circuit is anything but guaranteed right now, Caterina J is proving that you don’t have to go to an intimate club to get a really profound listening experience from an indie artist this winter. I’m impressed with her moxie, and I’m looking forward to seeing what it does for her next full-length album.

John McCall