Rap, metal-rap, electronica, techno or whatever trend record
\nlabels are scrambling to cash in for the last part of this decade,
\nit’s definitely not rock. Rock has become the new four-letter word
\nin the music industry.<\/p>\n
Bands and artists like Bjork, Radiohead and Moby have been able
\nto mine some fresh material and have made it fresh and alive. It
\nseems that there’s nothing left for rock music to do that hasn’t
\nbeen done at least 15 years ago.<\/p>\n
All of this was said by the skeptic before putting on the new
\nLos Lobos album,
\nThis Time<\/i>. Honestly, with a band like Los Lobos out there,
\nwell into their second decade of rocking, I have to laugh at people
\nwho think rock music cannot sound new or fresh. For those who need
\nsome reassurance rock still means something, by all means, pick up,<\/p>\n
Kiko<\/i>, the band’s 1992 flat-out masterpiece.<\/p>\n
In all fairness, Los Lobos does get some help in making
\nKiko<\/i> feel like an organic whole. Instead of the usual bass,
\nguitar, drums setup for a rock band, Los Lobos is not afraid to
\nincorporate sax, melodica, accordion, banjo, guitarron or whatever
\nthe hell they need to get the sound they want.<\/p>\n
The opening guitar lick in “Dream In Blue” is sparse and clean.
\nIt automatically gets you in the mood to take a long drive and look
\nat the autumn leaves. The song also incorporates a lot of dream
\nimagery, something that will become a recurrent theme in
\nKiko<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Los Lobos is one of those few bands who can actually blend
\ndifferent genres into their own style without sounding like they’re
\ncashing in on some trend. Rock, blues and traditional Latino
\nmelodies often collide in a exhilirating mash in songs like “Wake
\nUp Dolores,” the lullabye “Saint Behind The Glass” and the hard
\nhitting “Wicked Rain.”<\/p>\n
Most of
\nKiko<\/i> focuses on the blues, however. The playful guitar lines
\nof “The Train Don’t Stop Here,” doesn’t mask the fact that the main
\ncharacter is hurting after being smitten by his ex. A woman’s
\nsuffocating, and possible violent relationship is chronicled in
\n“Reva’s House.” And depression is all over the homicidal “When The
\nCircus Comes.”<\/p>\n
The band takes on weightier issues, such as homelessness on the
\nbeautiful shuffle of “Angels With Dirty Faces.” Most of the songs
\non
\nKiko<\/i> effectively combine weighty issues with irresistable
\nhooks and expert musicianship. The real stunner of
\nKiko<\/i> is that the songs are so good, you would swear that
\nthey have been around for decades.<\/p>\n
“Peace” brings the album to a close. It doesn’t say that things
\nare going to be fine tomorrow, but the vocals of David Hidalgo put
\nyou at ease with lyrics like, “There is a man standing on the
\nstreet\/ Shouting loud above the crowd\/ Saying to everyone around –
\noh yeah.”<\/p>\n
Bands that have been around for more than 20 years can be a
\nscary sight. Just look at all the reunion tours at your local state
\nfair next year. You want to hear the older material and then you
\ngroan (for usual good reasons) when the band says, “..and we’ve got
\na new album out.” Thankfully, that’s not the case for Los Lobos.
\nLike Dylan, well into their careers they pull out a classic that
\nmany consider is their best work. That accomplishment should be
\nenough to put all those “rock is dead” fatalists to rest. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":25101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5812],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-36306","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-los-lobos","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36306"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36306"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}