FFWD Weekly
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| CD Review by Jordan Kawchuk LOS LOBOS • After a string of side-projects, the members of Los Lobos gather for the first time in three years. • This Time continues down the strange and beautiful road the band has paved for itself throughout the 1990s. For a band whose continuous creativity has won the undying respect of peers and critics, it’s a shame many still think "La Bamba" was the last song Los Lobos recorded. This time, Lobos – it’s got to be this time they find out. A bitter-sweet mess of crunchy guitars, deep saxophones and junkyard percussion, This Time picks up where 1996’s Colossal Head left off. But unlike that record, which was saturated with dirty warped blues, Los Lobos’s new recording is bright with melody and groove-based satisfaction. Lead man David Hidalgo proves why he’s one of the most-wanted session players around – his phrasing is so unpredictable, so precise, so damn cool – his songs come out like mini-symphonies of weirdo Latino pop. But despite the laboured and experimental production, what makes Los Lobos great is the understated, simple songwriting they deliver. On the title track, over a beautiful southern groove that would frighten The Neville Brothers, Hidalgo reminds us to take life slow. "How come the days do what they do?" he asks with that wise, sleepy voice of his. "If only time... time only knew...." This Time may lack some of the accordion-laced ballads that 1992’s breakthrough album Kiko brought to the surface, but the songs here are vintage Los Lobos – in a category of their own, and rugged with plenty of heart and soul. 5/5 |
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