Los Lobos, the Grammy winning East L.A. legends comprised of David Hidalgo, Louie Perez, Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano and Steve GBerlin, are back with a new LP. Gates of Gold is the band's first release since 2010...

Gates of Gold contains 11 tracks (43 min, 06 sec) with themes ranging from the immigrant experience in America to melancholic ruminations on impending mortality. The music styles take pointers from blues rock, soul, traditional Mexican folk music and garage band jams. The band are entering their fifth decade, so, as you'd expect, this is a well polished and no nonsense album. In fact I was surprised at how fresh they still sound.

For the band's countless fans, this is an album that has long been anticipated - and you won't be disappointed. For the casual listener... they may suffer by dabbling in too many genres for you to be able to pin down whether you like their sound. However, stick with them, as it's well worth it.

7

Nick Smithson