Los Lobos: How Will The Wolf Survive?

THE EAST L.A. musical landscape is littered with one hit wonders who plunged back to obscurity as swiftly as they escaped from it, but the superb How Will the Wolf Survive? suggests Los Lobos will avoid that Icarus-like fate. The foundation of the quintet's sound--roadhouse blues, rocked-up nortenas and the twain where those venerable traditions meet--is enhanced here by welcome new dimensions that open up inviting prospects for the future. Maybe you knew the band had the ZZ Top-stomp power boogie it unveils behind Cesar Rosas' throaty growl on ‘Don't Worry Baby’ in their repertoire but both were news to me.