Albuquerque Tribune Review of T&C

CD reviews: Los Lobos; Warner Drive; The Matches

By Paul Maldonado Jr.
Tribune Music Writer
September 8, 2006

Los Lobos, “The Town and The City” (Hollywood Records/Mammoth, out
Tuesday)

For the latest chapter in their 33-year career, Los Lobos return to
the psychic moods and existential experimentation of “Kiko” and
“Colossal Head”: sparse instrumentation but a dense, very intimate
sound. The sonic dreamscapes just wash over.

This is a concept album of the nth degree: The immigrant story told
in the first person. But it could also be the story of the fleeting,
fading American dream, as this is the band’s darkest record in years.

The disc begins with the three-song punch of “The Valley,” a languid,
dreamy creation epic about leaving home; “Hold On,” a mystic
indigenous blues about survival; and the honky-tonk organ-vamping
rocker “The Road To Gila Bend” that gives an overview of the
immigrant journey.

Next is the first of Cesar Rosas’ compositions. “Chuco’s Cumbia” is a
Mexican cumbia about fitting in in a new place with new “friends”
with lyrics sung in calo, Spanglish slang; this song reminds me of
growing up in the barrio in El Chuco (i.e., El Paso). His second is a
sensuous rocker with a Latin lilt “No Puedo Mas” about betrayal in
love and life and friendships; the guitar break could give Santana a
run for his money. In the other song sung in Spanish, David Hidalgo
wraps his haunting baritone around the longing love song “Luna,” a
mutating samba that goes tropical.

However, the guys do rock out. “Two Dogs And A Bone” is ’60s garage
rock ‘n’ roll. And speaking of stuck in the ’60s, “Little Things” is
a sorrowful, soulful church organ/guitar brood a la Procol Harum’s “A
Whiter Shade Of Pale.” The morality play “Don’t Ask Why” evolves from
dirge to Latin rocker; while the jazzy and loungey “The Town”
proffers nostalgia for home, for a bygone time.

The heart of the album, the song that encapsulates the overarching
theme while capturing the inner turmoil of the current circumstance
with longing for the past or an idealized version of it is epitomized
on “The City.” The music is a mash-up of styles – rock ‘n’ roll and
cumbia – that serves as a musical metaphor. It’s sonic assimilation,
the meshing of genres/cultures, yet they remain distinct. Neither is
dominant and in the end something new is formed.

Like all of Los Lobos’ CDs, “The Town And The City” is a journey of
discovery. It’s at once familiar, friendly and inviting . . . if you
open your mind (as the band suggests on “Free Up”).

Los Lobos visit our town and city, bringing compadres Ozomatli along
for the ride. The Latin rock twin bill goes off at 8 p.m. Saturday at
Tingley Coliseum as part of the New Mexico State Fair, Expo New
Mexico, 300 San Pedro Drive N.E. Tickets for the all-ages show range
from $10-$30, plus service charges, at Ticketmaster outlets or call
883-7800.