Música mexicana superstars Fuerza Regida took their sound in an ambitious new direction on 2024’s PERO NO TE ENAMORES. Empowered by the success of their prior Marshmello team-up “HARLEY QUINN,” group leader Jesus Ortiz Paz (aka JOP) and his cohorts embraced the opportunity to infuse their style with seemingly disparate genres like Jersey club, resulting in a risk-taking album that will forever stand out in their high-quality discography. Yet not long thereafter came MALA MÍA, a surprise joint-EP release with Grupo Frontera that inherently hinted at a potential pivot away from the dance-floor thump. By the time the riveting corrido “Por Esos Ojos” arrived a couple months later, it became clear that JOP intended for their next project to change course once more. That said, anyone who’d dare presume that 111XPANTIA is somehow backtracking or retreating from the boldness of PERO NO TE ENAMORES simply fails to understand the breadth of Fuerza Regida’s artistry. While the self-described Jersey corridos side of their work is conspicuously absent here, what remains are a dozen tracks that burst and blossom with fearless lyricism and intricate arrangements. Evoking the iconically cinematic Nino Rota score, opener “GodFather” distills mafioso-epic intensity into an unapologetically sordid account of luxe hedonism. JOP sounds arguably more profane than ever on the riveting crime-story corrido “ayy weyy” and the sexually explicit “peliculiando.” Electronic elements play a subtler role than before, present as a warming drone at the start of “caperuza” and via synth bass swells underneath the lush “Nocturno.”