Los Lobos
had earned a reputation as one of the most intelligent and creative
roots rock
acts in America with the albums
By the Light of the Moon
and
The Neighborhood
, but it was with 1992's
Kiko
that they really demonstrated the breadth of their sonic ambitions. Produced in collaboration with
Mitchell Froom
,
exchanged the more straightforward approach of
' previous sessions for a uniquely textured sound, with the group's guitars thrown into sharp relief against
Froom
's collection of vintage tape-loop keyboards, and the arrangements are often unusually spare, most powerfully in the ghostly spaciousness of
"Kiko and the Lavender Moon"
"Wake Up Delores."
Even the more full-bodied cuts, such as the rollicking
"That Train Don't Stop Here"
and the hard-rocking
"Whiskey Trail,"
boast a different personality than in
' previous work, with the guitars clean but cutting like a switchblade and the drums snapping hard, and the more contemplative selections drip with a mysterious, otherworldly ambience that's matched by the impressionistic imagery of
David Hidalgo
Louie Perez
's superb songs. At its best,
sounds like the musical equivalent of a
Luis Bunuel
dream sequence, balancing beauty and menace with intelligence and a skill that's little short of dazzling; it's a brilliant, singular achievement, and the most rewarding album in the group's catalog. ~ Mark Deming