July 15, 1999
What began as a side project for members of Los Lobos (their first album was a bizarre and remarkably beautiful, loose-limbed experiment), Latin Playboys has grown into a full-fledged band whose second album has already nailed a spot on my best of 1999 list. Dose is a compulsively listenable, bold and adventurous album, one that takes traditional Latino music screaming down dark sonic trails frequented by Tom Waits and other grimy proponents of avant-garde sounds.
Lashing together shards of genres that have no business being together (ancient fiddles, tropical rhythms, blistering rock n' roll, distorted blues and sunny Mexican folk), Latin Playboys play with such palpable joy that it all sounds as natural and refreshing as lemon ice on a scorching summer day. The Hydra-armed percussion of the fable "Locoman" is balanced by the sublime vocal beauty of "Mustard", and if the dark spoken word and screaming electric guitar of "Dose" knocks the grin off your face, the absurdly infectious merry-go-round steel drums of "Paula Y Fred" will plaster it back on.
Mirroring the winking absurdity and willingness to explore of Dylan and the Band's Basement Tapes, Dose sounds similarly inventive, timeless and wise. But instead of resonating from Appalachia or the Deep South, this is urban folk of the highest order, born of East L.A.'s asphalt sprawl, air hazy with smog and pot smoke, slow-rolling El Caminos and ramshackle pushcarts. David Higaldo sings, "Don't go figure, it's not about hip - you won't get it, it's a Latin trip." It's a fascinating trip you won't soon forget.
- Jared O'Connor
Twisted Mexican folk