Good Morning Aztlan

Los Lobos are simply too good for their own good. The long-running outfit can play just about anything and they usually do, but their diverse catalog of rock, blues, soul, folk, country and various Latin-based music has fated them to their status as perennial cult favorites. Their latest, Good Morning Aztlan, is an album out of time; the songs sound like relics in the best possible way. “The Big Ranch” is a blues-drenched rocker that sounds like Allman Brothers minus the instrumental histrionics. Dobro and horns swirl through “Malanque,” lending it a rich Tex-Mex flavor while “The Word” brings subtle, funky soul worthy of a Curtis Mayfield album. The title track, though, is the standout. Driven by fierce, crunching guitars and a supple backbeat, it’s a scorching, roots-rock stomp, brimming with passion and humor that serves as an uncomfortable reminder of how far mainstream rock‘n’roll has strayed from its original course.