Released By : Lonelytone Records
Genre : Blues Rock, Latin Rock
Links : http://loslonelyboys.com
Tracklist:
01. American Idle
02. Fly Away
03. Love In My Veins
04. Road To Nowhere
05. 16 Monkeys
06. Rockpango
07. Smile
08. Baby Girl
09. Change The World
10. Porn Star
11. Believe
Shortly after the 2004 release of the LOS LONELY BOYS breakout single HEAVEN it seemed as though they were destined for super-stardom, especially after being awarded a grammy for best pop/rock song of the year. This accolade had only been won once before by a Latin artist, none other than Carlos Santana for MARIA, MARIA. Unfortunately for the three Garza brothers the novelty soon wore off and the band basically faded into oblivion. Sure they have their fair share of loyal followers, and still garner rather large crowds whenever they play live, but as far as mainstream or commercial success goes they have been quite unfortunate.
This new album ROCKPANGO (which loosely translates to ROCK PARTY) sees the band trying a few new things while still retaining that insatiable tex-mex feeling that gained them their success in the first place. There’s a load of SANTANA inspired Latin rock to be found on the disc, while some funk rock, Texas blues and even some alternative rock also flows throughout. The guitar work is as great as ever and the boys natural vocal harmonies are still something special, but for some reason it just doesn’t click together well enough to get me excited. Sometimes too much variety is a bad thing, and on ROCKPANGO it almost feels as though LOS LONELY BOYS are throwing their hat into too many different genres trying to find something that sticks.
Even though this makes the album as a whole somewhat of a dud, that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying a handful of the songs here that actually are pretty good. AMERICAN IDLE for example is guitar-heavy funk rocker with some great lyrics about the state of America and one of the better songs they have released since HEAVEN. ROAD TO NOWHERE is a country-tinged ballad that works well with the constantly excellent vocal harmonies of the Garza brothers. 16 MONKEYS is an interesting tune that sounds a bot like alternative group CAKE, certainly a new avenue for the band but it works quite well. CHANGE THE WORLD finds the band hitting a more serious note but really cruises along nicely.
Unfortunately there’s not enough good songs on here to be classed as a good album, but the few highlights that there are deserve and command respect and should certainly please fans of the bands earlier work. Maybe next time we could have a more consistent effort without the filler….
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 6/10
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