Paraíso Express is the 8th studio album from Spanish sensation Alejandro Sanz, and, hands down, the best yet. Steadily putting out records every two to three years since 1991, the 40-years-old Sanz’s matured sound signifies a wonderful apex in both his life and career: looking and sounding better than ever before.

Paraíso Express (The Paradise Express) features some familiar themes, and “yes” the songs are about love for the most part. Still, the vocals are just a little raspy and completely intoxicating. The addition of lovely, female vocals adds just enough diversity to the record without overdoing the guest feature factor (anyone else bored with albums that use guest singers on every single track thus overshadowing the main artist?) which is exactly what R&B singer and pianist Alicia Keys does for the catchy, bilingual tune “Looking for Paradise.”

The new CD is available now!

Paraíso Express seems to have just a touch more life to it than Sanz’s past albums. From the playful nature of the opening track, “Mi Peter Punk,” to the unexpected rock emotion of “Lola Soledad” (Lola Loneliness), this is a CD full of pleasant little surprises but, of course, it keeps ballad-lovers satisfied. The album keeps the track count low at 10, but listeners won’t feel jilted by its content. The songs are all decent lengths for pop tunes; no 2 minute quickies here! So this express is definately long enough to last through your morning commute. Now that’s paradise.