His work with artists – Eartheater, oklou, Caroline Polachek, Shygirl and COUCOU CHLOE; the latter two artists forming with Navarrete, the label/collective Nuxxe – pushed the boundaries of each other's aesthetic sound world to create some of their strongest output. However, where Sega Bodega truly flexes his producing genius is in his solo work; Dennis, his first record since 2021’s acclaimed, Romeo, displays the completely individual and masterful touch of Bodega’s artistic hand.
Despite Sega Bodega’s intent of crafting a body of work that reflects “a feeling of being as disoriented as [he] was for the past couple of years”, Dennis is arguably his most concise record to date. ‘Kepko’, the album’s lead single, arriving back in 2022, in hindsight, perfectly set the stage for what was to come. It contains all the features you could desire from a Sega Bodega track: thunderous beats; intelligible vocals; a strange sort of club-ready hook; and some sizzling synths providing the track a euro-pop edge. Dennis feels like a summation of everything Navarrete and achieved thus far in his ever-expanding career, becoming increasingly illustrious with each release.
One thing that has remained central to a Sega Bodega release is its unpredictability. This thread runs through his entire discography, so of course there are some surprises on Dennis. Mid-album highlight, "Dirt’ washes over you before dropping into a full-on trance moment, reminiscent of label mate, Shygirl’s latest club-ready release, Club Shy. This leads into the obviously subsequent, "Set Me Free, I’m An Animal", burrowing itself into the tracklist, a laurel canyon, psyche-folk style of guitar-driven ballad. It is an incredibly unexpected move, even on Bodega’s part, but yet again, feels completely logical within his universe. The ability to meld genres together has always been one of the more awe-inspiring traits in Navarrete’s work.
More than anything, Dennis feels most like an extension of the artist himself. Sonically, Sega Bodega has always been difficult to pin down, which is what has made him so enthralling for the better part of the last decade. On his third album, he continues crafting his inimitable blend of pop, R&B, and electronica, ferociously cementing his place amongst the very best at work today. With Dennis, he joins a list of restless trailblazers, relentlessly redefining the limits of what not only music, but sound can be.
