Miss Little Havana

Her first English-language album in nearly a decade finds Gloria Estefan produced by The Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams. Yet even through his updated beats and studio gloss, Estefan sounds like the same Latin pop diva with just a touch more maturity on her vocal cords. The title track opens as Estefan weaves a narrative about a teen model from Havana teetering at the edge of the profession’s slippery slope. “Wepa” comes closest to approximating the chemistry of Miami Sound Machine with what sounds like an epic summertime party erupting in the streets: pounding parade drums, blaring horn sections, hyper conga rhythms, and a chanting chorus all play under Estefan like she’s leading a parade down South Beach. Both Williams and Estefan make disco sound totally relevant in the pulsing “Make Me Say Yes”, where Williams proves that the Auto-Tune effect can in fact be used sparingly and tastefully.