SONGS FROM A LITTLE BLUE HOUSE (1999): "Formell's sweet and sour vocals and the record's acoustic intimacy bring to mind international singer/songwriters ranging from Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil to Steve Earle, Willie Nelson, and Neil Young." - Judy Cantor, Miami NewTimes

LAS CALLES del PARAISO (2002):"Las Calles presents a panorama of Cuban musical genres, from comparsa to bolero, woven into a modernist masterpiece. Formell's pellucid guitar and ethereal voice evoke Havana, a cityscape haunted by memory and desire. The poignant, beautiful songs reveal Formell as an imagist whose use of Afro-Cuban tropes connects him to the surrealist painter Wilfredo Lam as much as to Lecuona and troubadour Sindo Garay." -- Al Angeloro, GLOBAL RHYTHM MAGAZINE

CEMETERIES & DESIRE (2005): "A romantic with a heart like a laser beam, Formell deftly mines his Cuban musical heritage to create a set of non-trivial love songs inspired by new Orleans' 'cemeteries and desire'. Like Brazil's Caetaneo Veloso, Formell brings the rumba and bolero up to speed without tarnishing their essence." - R. Gehr, Village Voice

SON RADICAL (2006): "With his smoldering new band, Son Radical, the singer/songwriter/guitarist proves more hard-chargingly adventurous than ever. Instead of parting ways with the traditional Cuban son that spawned his U.S. solo career, he grafts it here with thinking-person's rock; check the refined electric guitar of the instrumentals "Insurrecion" and "Penetracion del Viento," as well as the politically pointed "Testamento," a track whose opening chords are so funky-groovy-jazzy they will have the musically intrepid checking Formell's tour calendar obsessively to see him rip the joint — any joint — up in person."-- Tammy La Gorce, ALL MUSIC GUIDE

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"Son Radical finds Formell backed by two fellow Habanero expats: drummer Jimmy Branly and bassist Carlitos del Puerto. Together they cook up a stunningly sophisticated sound that they call rock en clave. Smart and literate, wistful and playful, as Son Radical draws from a palette that's as much post-rock as it is post-rumba; as influenced by Steely Dan as by Benny More. And songs like "Control Control" and "Amor de Luna" go a long way towards sketching out a space for a new Cuban art music.."  --TP,  SING OUT MAGAZINE spring 2007

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"Arousing admiration with a brilliant display of of electric and acoustic guitar skills, Juan-Carlos joins forces with is two L.A. accomplices to create a very rare product: a truly delightful mixture of rock and son elements. SON RADICAL has managed to utilize traditional Cuban genres a sa point of support to develop a futuristic musical idiom without borders."

-- Luis Tamargo, LATIN BEAT MAGAZINE 11/06

Formell makes music firmly rooted in the Cuban son traditions, but with his new group Son Radical, he throws the clichés and expected mannerisms out the window. His show Saturday night at Helsinki was one of venture, passion and surprise.

The main culprit and catalyst here was Formell's use of the electric guitar. In the context of his melodic songs laced with traditional three-part harmonies and Latin rhythms, Formell took his ax on trips of fantasy, incorporating a lot of stuff that shouldn't have fit, but did. Formell bent strings like Dick Dale, and wasn't afraid to pour on the distortion and reverb, or the occasional Opry lick. Neither was he afraid to go off-rhythm and atonal. Every one of Formell's solos, whether over something resembling a bolero, a son-filin (the venerable son-form that spawned the bossa nova), or a dance-floor-ready rave-up, was a wicked, head-turning masterpiece. There were simply no boundaries. --Paul Rapp, Metroland