REVIEW: The Myth of RRRomeo

In fair México, where Girl Ultra lays our scene; from ancient grudge break to new munity, where civil blood makes civil hands raise their arms in musical pleasure – A pair of star-crossed lovers dance for their failing romance. 

RRRomeo is not only an album dedicated to the grainy fallen world of infatuation and quick love, it is also a masterful piece that draws references to the classic Shakespearean tale to modern dating culture and the power behind the names of those who hold our hearts’ weakest point. In mixing 80’s classic pop beats and the prison that sexual freedom creates, Girl Ultra creates a dark spellbinding world begging to be listened to.

Girl Ultra’s fifth studio album is an enchanting cry to the myth of Romeo, a star-crossed lover, a mistake. RRRomeo being a simple figure of misplaced affection and erotic desires, similar to his namesake Romeo Montague. By title alone, RRRomeo, an elongation of the natural name — RRR — an alveolar trill attached to not only draw out but draw in her lover. This dramatic cry haunts the entire album, with almost every song elongated through outros that last nearly a minute after the spellbinding voice of Girl Ultra sings her final line. A call back to the endless nature of infatuation. Music becomes the manifestation of how desire leaves its print long after the initial effects are felt. With only eight songs and 27 minutes, Girl Ultra captures listeners’ hearts and forces their bodies to move along.

Beginning with “¡El Groove De Romeo!” (trans: Romeo’s Groove) Girl Ultra pulls listeners into the start of the myth, less of a song and more of a chant — the beginning of something eternal, something sinister, something almost unavoidable. A harmony of the name Romeo begins our descent into love’s vicious fabrications.

“Mentirasmentiras” (trans: lieslies) continues with this significant smooth chant-like feel that encapsulates the majority of the album. This song features a collaboration with Buscabulla and Chromeo, the latter of whom features heavily throughout the entire work. Girl Ultra, in an interview with Apple Music, mentions her “fascination with sitars and Eastern sounds,” which are especially prominent within this particular track. The dreamlike instrumentals accompany the lyrics, which continue the fall into lust despite knowing better, “Me dice mentiras […] esas que arruinan la vida […] pero que rico se sentian” (trans: “He tells me lies […] those that ruin lives […] but how beautiful they felt”).

“RRRomeo”, the titular song, draws you in through a powerful witchy bass line, an ominous inevitability. The chanting of Romeo’s name continues within this track, establishing the lack of escape from the age-old tale. The desire in this song is the most prominent in the entire album, an unapologetic rhythm and symphony of lust, love, and need. With “Denisse”, Girl Ultra changes the tale and switches the tone. Denisse is a tropical escape drawing references to the character of Paris (Juliet’s parents’ chosen suitor) and to Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita”. “Stop wasting time” warns listeners to draw back from the intoxicating call of infatuation. 

“Ironía” (trans: Irony), another Chromeo collaboration, screams of the infamous 80s club scene with the classic synth and drums reminiscent of ABBA‘s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)”. “Bienvenido al infierno, al amor fatal” (trans: welcome to hell, to fatal love), the song ties back to the ruins of Romeo and Juliet: a catastrophic and unintentional love which cannot be resisted. The lyrics relate a clubbing atmosphere to love and lust, “Es una ironía vestirnos para vernos bien Y quitarnoslo despues” (trans: It is an irony to get dressed up just to take it all off afterward). Girl Ultra reminds us that there is no escape from the reality of this “love”; behind all the music and myth, at the end of the day, we must undress and reveal the truth beneath it all.

Girl Ultra’s RRRomeo is a modern callback to the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet. No longer a story of woe, but rather a story of myth, rhythm, and that inescapable thing called love. Encapsulating a moving, worthy beat and hidden easter eggs for those fans of Romeo and Juliet, RRRomeo is a deserving listen for music lovers looking for a captivating album to dance to or dissect.

Girl Ultra’s RRRomeo out now.