Balún "Something Comes Our Way"

Don't flip out, but not all the music coming out of La Isla del Encanto is reggaetón. For every Wisin & Yandel and Don Omar there's an alternative rock band and electronic music group making it interesting for the kids in El Borinquen.

The other Puerto Rico is a secret world where bands like Superaquello, Astrid Proll, Oruga, Introdujos, Davila 666, Crissalida and Balún paint the Puerto Rican night with a different shade of sound and color.

Comprised of twenty-something-year-olds Angelica Negrón, José Olivares and Andrés Fontanez, Balún has been making music in San Juan for over three years. Their debut album Something Comes Our Way, recently released by Chicago's Brilliante Records, fits right in with the cute electro pop made famous by The Postal Service and Iceland's Múm.

Signature Balún tracks like Be Careful When You Walk combine poppy lo-fi electronic sounds with shimmering guitars, hearty melodies and Negron’s elf-like vocals to great effect. The music on the rest of their debut, despite its heavy indietronica leanings and melancholy vibe, is always rich and varied, with Negron’s accordion at center stage making the songs larger than life.

Knowing when to ease up on the emo is what makes Balún worthwhile, as on their closing track, “Disappearing act,” which lets in some Caribbean sunshine after a long, dark rain.