At last, a good new set of songs by the band who were once the finest Chicano players in America and the pride of east Los Angeles. Los Lobos started out in the 1970s not just as rousing exponents of Mexican-American styles but as a great all-American band, playing anything from blues to folk and rockabilly. Then they became a lumbering bar-room rock band, but this thoughtful, mellow and varied set is a welcome comeback.

Many of the songs return to the theme of migration and the pains and perils of city living, with brooding ballads like The Valley or The Town matched against the slinky blues of Hold On (again dealing with survival), a burst of stomping R&B, or a slinky Spanish dance song, Chuco's Cumbia. The most adventurous track, The City, is a bittersweet anthem to east LA, and another reminder that the Wolves are not finished yet.