Aterciopelados - Rio
 
 
 
 
 
 
Babasónicos - Mucho
 
 
 
 
 
 
Buena Vista Social Club - At Carnegie Hall
 
 
 
 
 
 
Calle 13 - Los De Atras Vienen Conmigo
 
 
 
 
 
 
Natalia Clavier - Nectar
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daddy Yankee - Talento de Barrio
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lila Downs - Shake Away/Ojo de Culebra
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fania All-Stars - Campeones
 
 
 
 
 
 
La India Canela - Merengue Tipico from the Dominican Republic
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mariachi Los Camperos - Musica Ranchera: Amor, Dolor y Lagrimas
 
 
 
 
 
 
La Oreja de Van Gogh - LOVG: Grandes Exitos
 
 
 
 
 
 
Peru Negro - Zamba Malato
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tito Puente - The Complete 78s, Vol. 1
 
 
 
 
 
 
Puntillita y el Conjunto Todo Rumbero - A Tribute to Gonzalo Asencio Tio Tom 1919-1991
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bebo Valdes/Javier Colina - Live at the Village Vanguard
 
 
 
 
 
 
Monica Vasconcelos - Hih
 
 
 
 
 
 
Julieta Venegas - MTV Unplugged
 
 
 
 
 
 
Andy Votel - Brazilika
 
 
 
 
 
 
Various Artists - El Barrio: Latin Funk
 
 
 
 
 
 
Various Artists - El Barrio: Sounds from the Spanish Harlem Streets
 
 
 
 
 
 
Various Artists - The House That Al Built: The Alegre Records Story 1957-1977
 
 
 

The weather in Chicago today is chilly and cloudy, but you’d never know it based on the sunny sounds of the Windy City’s Allá (pronounced “ayê-ya”). The trio’s globally savvy pop embraces not just their Mexican heritage, but immaculate Swedish pop, Brazilian Tropicalia, Krautrock, and Chicago’s post-rock scene. Singer Lupe Martinez sounds alluring no matter what backdrop brothers Jorge and Angel Ledezma put behind her, whether it’s the languid guitars on “Golpes del Sol” or “Un Dia Otra Noche”’s giddy strings and handclaps. Allá spent four years recording self-financed sessions all over the globe, stopping at musical ports of call including Chicago’s Soma Electronic Studios and Sweden’s Tambourine Studios, where Jorge worked with arranger Patrick Bartosch to get the string and horn sounds that have graced the Cardigans’ and Eggstone’s music.

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When there are as many great music releases as there were this past October, it’s difficult to narrow down my favorite albums, let alone songs. PJ Harvey’s White Chalk, Jens Lekman’s Night Falls Over Kortedala, Café Tacuba’s Sino, Saturday Looks Good to Me’s Fill Up the Room, Jesu’s Lifeline, Neil Young’s Chrome Dreams II, Juanes’ La Vida…Es un Ratico, Celebration’s The Modern Tribe, Dwight Yoakam’s Dwight Sings Buck, Band of Horses’ Cease to Begin, the Fiery Furnaces’ Widow City, Sunset Rubdown’s Random Spirit Lover, Radiohead’s In Rainbows, Beirut’s The Flying Club Cup — these were some of my favorite albums. Ten of my favorite songs from this past month follow:

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Beginning with a series of high-profile concert performances this past summer at Lollapalooza (Chicago), Central Park SummerStage (New York), and the Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles), Café Tacuba has returned to the forefront of the global alt-rock scene after an absence. The acclaimed band from Mexico City recently released a new album, Sino, their first studio effort in four years; their previous one, Cuatro Caminos (2003), was a critical favorite stateside, frequently described in shorthand as “Kid A en español.”

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