Artist Update:
As a wave of critical acclaim continues for Javier Garcia's album 13 (new reviews this week saying: "13 spearheads the new Miami sound.... a groundbreaker of a new Latino style... points the way to a refreshingly different kind of Latin pop-rock star" and "one of the best Latin albums in years... It really is that good...There's just so much to go on and on glowing about here on 13), Javier is preparing to tape a special concert appearance for MTV Espanol's "A Todo Volumen". If you are in Miami on July 21, please join us for this special concert taping:

STATE - 320 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach - Showtime 8PM

If you have not yet heard Javier Garcia's 13, take a look at this week's new album reviews from Newsday and Barnes & Noble/All Music Guide (and full album reviews below), and let us know if you need a copy

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"About 20 years after the emergence of Gloria and Emilio Estefan's Miami Sound Machine.. a new, progressive Latin-pop sound is coming out of South Florida's big town. Javier Garcia has put out a new album titled 13 that spearheads the new Miami sound. Following an eclectic tropical path that includes Cuban son, rock, and Jamaican reggae and ska, Garcia's album is more than just alternative salsa. Garcia, who wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album, comes off like an alternative troubadour in the mold of Juanes, but his tunes are peppered with Caribbean rhythms. A song like 'Dinamita' explodes with a typical Afro-Cuban piano figure but is layered with electric guitars and horns, and is embellished with Jamaican dub rhythms... [Garcia's] strategy for re-entry into the Latin pop-rock game was impeccable... [shows Gustavo] Santaolalla's exquisite touch in the studio. With his unusual torn t-shirt and horned rimmed glasses look, Garcia is somewhat of an enigma, a groundbreaker of a new Latino style... Garcia has created an album that not only keeps Miami on the map, but points the way to a refreshingly different kind of Latin pop-rock star." - Ed Morales, Newsday - Sunday, 07/03/05
"[Javier Garcia] returned to the Latin music arena in 2005 with 13, a clear critical favorite before it even went on sale... when the label went about promoting 13, it skipped the usual marketing hyperbole and simply sent out press releases that compiled glowing review after glowing review. Judging from these press releases, you'd think every critic out there thought 13 was one of the best Latin albums in years -- and after giving the album a listen, you might agree. It really is that good...García offers an impressive array of musical styles, most of them Latin (or most specifically, tropical) but not limited to that (traces of rap and funk show up, for instance -- even turntablism!). But this isn't just a multicultural exercise; 13 has a lot else going for it. In particular, García has at his helm the best producer Latin music has to offer, Gustavo Santaolalla... García said that he sent his demos to only one person, Santaolalla, because the man with the Midas touch has "good sounds" and "not overpolished stuff." And that's certainly the case here, as this relatively dense music absolutely shines with crystal clarity. It's not overwhelmingly bombastic like a good majority of big-budget tropical music, nor is it overwrought with needless layers of overdubs. It sounds natural, like you were in the studio watching García and company cut the songs right in front of you. Which brings up what else 13 has going for it, a batch of amazing songs that are as diverse as the musical accompaniment...the 13 here are all strong. There's not any filler here, for instance -- not even a single one of the obligatory fluffy ballads that are a staple of most Latin pop albums. In particular, the first four songs are all excellent -- "Bajo y Piano," "La Rumba," "Me Gustaría," and "Como Bailan" -- and the album is capped off with the similarly excellent "Sol." There's just so much to go on and on glowing about here on 13 -- the multicultural musical mixture, Santaolalla's trademark flawless production, the first-rate song lineup, García himself. Talk about a comeback." - Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide (Appearing on Barnes & Noble's bn.com)
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JAVIER GARCIA's 13 - Press Reaction
"5 STARS... makes me feel really excited about the future of Latin music. Javier García has put together the bounciest, most exhilarating album I've heard in the past few years"
"4 Stars...[a revolution] in the way Latin music is created and listened to...
a level of sophistication very seldom heard in Latin pop."
"Grade: A. ...represents the future of Latin's tropical style... polish up the dance floor."
"4 Stars... a formidible accomplishment... never a false moment...[deserves] a large audience"
"a new, progressive Latin-pop sound... a groundbreaker of a new Latino style... an album that not only keeps Miami on the map, but points the way to a refreshingly different kind of Latin pop-rock star."
"displays a sophistication and appeal that can transcend barriers of both language and age...
one of the freshest and most fun discs of the year."
"It really is that good... There's just so much to go on and on glowing about here on 13"
"a musical narrative for Miami as sweet as kissing your honey on the beach to a swaying reggae beat,
as danceable as a 3 a.m. Cuban jam session... a dizzying mix of music"

"García absolutely shines... highly danceable... rhythms that are timeless"
"a heroic secret agent on a mission to save his audience from monotony. His songs are like movie scenes full of adrenaline rush, romance, poolside conga lines, and groovy lounge parties"
"There might as well have been puffs of white smoke in the air hovering over this show of support"
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"The Miami-based protégé of producer Gustavo Santaolalla (Juanes, Café Tacuba, Molotov) debuts with a bilingual rock/hip-hop/ska/salsa fusion album that's as eclectic as his Cuban and Irish background" - VIBE
"5 stars. In the piles and piles of recently-released CDs on my desk, every year or so I seem to find one that makes me feel really excited about my job and about the future of Latin music. So far this year 13 is that CD. Javier García (along with Gustavo Santaolalla) has put together the bounciest, most exhilarating album I've heard in the past few years (probably since Manú Chao's Proxima Estación: Esperanza.) You can tell García had a blast playing around with almost every Latin rhythm there is, fusing son, rock, bolero, ska, calipso, rap, flamenco, etc. En fin, this is a well-rooted Caribbean-flavored album with a modern twist that also features Cuban trumpet player Arturo Sandoval and Paul McCartney's drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. - Batanga
"Already a lock for my Top-10 albums of the year" ... "Grade: A. ... Mr. Garcia, born in Spain to a Cuban father and Irish mother, takes his salsa-and-son core then piles on reggae, ska, hip-hop, rock and funk. On 'Dinamita' he merges a sizzling, percussive salsa rhythm with reggae undertones that slide right into the syncopated beat. 'La Musica de Ayer' rides on a frenetic ska base that gets embellished by brassy horns and even an accordion. 'Me Vuelve Loco' works a jazzy hip-hop groove into its psychedelic salsa mélange. He can also take it slow, as on the lovely bolero 'Algo Especial.' His command of organic instruments, melodies and hooks give the disc a vibrant flow. If Mr. Garcia represents the future of Latin's tropical style, which had fallen into a one-note rut, then polish up the dance floor." - Mario Tarradell, Dallas Morning News - Sunday, 05/15/05
"...the current fascination with reggaeton obscures something equally important, if not yet as popular: a new generation of Latin singer-songwriters that's opting for a more complex, mature sound that deserves a broad audience. [Javier Garcia] displays a sophistication and appeal that can transcend barriers of both language and age. Put on this Miami performer's sizzling new album, 13 (Universal/Surco), and it's impossible not to want to throw a party. But what's most striking about 13 is not its danceability but its scope -- from the reggae of Como Bailan and Afro-pop of Llego Chango, to the tropical drive of Dinamita and the funk of Sol. But Garcia never gets lost amid all the musical adventurism. No doubt part of that is due to the performer's background. With a Cuban father, Irish mother, and a childhood spent in Ireland, Spain and South Florida, Garcia grew up in a cosmopolitan world where the riot of languages, accents and rhythms provided the springboard for his careening culture clash... 13 is as much Tito Puente Latin classicism as cross-continental cool. The result is one of the freshest and most fun discs of the year."- Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star Telegram, 05/09/05
"**** (4 Stars) For decades, Miami has served as a musical incubator, with Latin, Caribbean, African and other influences blending together to create hybrids unimaginable elsewhere. Now, [Javier Garcia] reaffirms the vitality of the south Florida scene...[13 is] a formidible accomplishment, distinguished by his inventive fusion of styles. Boogaloo and funk power "Bajo y Piano"; soca, calypso and other tropical Latin sounds comingle on "La Rumba"; "Me Gustaria" blends Cuban son, guajira and charanga, accented with a hip-hop interlude and even a little Esquivel instrumental flourish; "La Musica de Ayer" whirls deliriously on the rhythms of ska, trip-hop and Argentinian cuarteto. And so forth for eight more essential songs. Thanks to the skilled production, it all sounds organic; there's never a false moment. Let's hope this disc finds the large audience it deserves.- Laura Emerick, Chicago Sun-Times, 6/26/05
"[Javier Garcia] has invented a musical narrative for Miami on 13, as sweet as kissing your honey on the beach to a swaying reggae beat, as danceable as a 3 a.m. Cuban jam session... Like Miami, García's 13 gets more infectious and interesting the more time you spend with it. There's a dizzying mix of music here: Cuban son and bolero, reggae, ska, rock, funk, rap, cuarteto, a bit of Haitian, and more. But it's so seamless and natural, with such fresh energy, that all you feel is groove. García doesn't just find the musical and rhythmic connections between all these styles -- he finds the common spirit that animates them. Arturo Sandoval's trumpet sails perfectly off a rock guitar solo in Bajo y Piano. Lyrics that on first listen seem simple grow in depth and sly humor the more you listen... a pledge to leave his own legacy of love and music - Jordan Levin, Miami Herald- Sunday Arts COVER- 4/24/05
"The opening track of Javier Garcia's new album 13 (Universal/Surco) gives notice that the Spanish composer and rocker's latest is far from the typical pop fare. "Bajo y Piano" is a snazzy pop mambo with guest Arturo Sandoval blowing hot trumpet licks. He keeps the energy level and rhythmic intensity at full throttle throughout, decorating such works as "La Rumba" and "La Musica de Ayer" with a variety of super-charged pan-Caribbean styles, from bachata to reggae. 13 is a lucky number for those seeing a blast of bracing, summery Latin pop."- Mark Holston, HISPANIC Magazine -July/August '05
"Javier Garcia is on a stealth mission to conquer Latin pop...a creative yet retro Latino who has spent years turning kitsch into cool... When you listen to 13, you get the feeling that this reserved man, with his black-rimmed glasses and polo shirts, has transformed himself into a heroic secret agent on a mission to save his audience from monotony. His songs are like movie scenes full of adrenaline rush, romance, poolside conga lines, and groovy lounge parties... [a]sophisticated mixture of salsa, reggae, ska, calypso, and even flamenco..." - Julienne Gage, Miami New Times - 04/21/05
"4 Stars...behind the dancing, there is a singer/songwriter who is one of the first to revolutionize the way Latin music is created and listened to... Javier's music is to a certain level tricky. On one hand is the Latin Pachanga (party vibe). But if you listen more closely you will discover a level of sophistication very seldom heard in Latin pop." -Enrique Lopetegui Rumbo - San Antonio, TX (translated)
"[a] substantial and adventurous palette, courtesy of producer Gustavo Santaolalla. As a result, García absolutely shines. A rocker at heart, but also very aware of his mixed-up roots (he was born in Spain to an Irish mother and a Cuban father), ...heavy-duty percussion, provocative polyrhythms, aggressive pop-rock hooks and a strong dose of Latin grandeur. García's voice also demands added attention, while behind him a fury of highly danceable Afro-Caribbean rhythms churn away. Songs like the tight funk-rock of "Dinamita" and the aggressive album opener "Bajo y Piano" are defiantly modern in tone, but rooted in rhythms that are timeless, making 13 an adventure worth the wait." - Jason Ferguson, Orlando Weekly - 06/02/05
"WHITE SMOKE OVER DOWNTOWN MIAMI: Meanwhile across the causeway last Thursday, Javier Garcia, played not one but two showcases downtown to show off his recently released album, 13. Enthusiastic Universal Music Group execs - including Latin American/Iberian Peninsula chairman Jesus Lopez - shuttled a few blocks from the Romance 106.7-FM party at the Pawn Shop Lounge to the BOOM Magazine fifth anniversary party at I/O. There might as well have been puffs of white smoke in the air hovering over this show of support for the singer-songwriter apparently elected successor to the infallible Juanes. Like the Colombian star, Garcia fuses rock, pop and reggae with folkloric rhythms for songs with infectious hooks. He's also on Universal's Surco imprint, produced by Gustavo Santaolalla - the golden touch behind Juanes, Molotov, Café Tacuba and so many other Latin alternative success stories." - Celeste Fraser Delgado, SUN-POST, 05/13/05
"The new album from Javier Garcia is like one of his rumbas, 'something new, something old,(with) fresh air'. The kid has flavor and sings with happiness and energy... he demonstrates his showmanship with thirteen happy and super danceable songs" - Cosmo en Espanol (translated)