Sólo Junto a Ti / Solo Junto a Ti

Still recovering from the March 2009 murder of their drummer Roberto Villa in Durango, Mexico, Conjunto Atardecer’s 2010 effort finds them back on their feet and, no surprise, it's bittersweet. Villa was honored on their previous effort, the August 2009 release Contigo Para Siempre, and while his loss still had quite an impact on the band here, their absence from their homeland is now an issue as the duranguense group had not played a show in Mexico for the previous 12 months, citing the drug war chaos and safety reasons. What makes it all so poignant is their usual, relatively clean material. Solo Junto a Ti’s songs are concerned with love, lust, heartbreak, and pride with no drug talk or kingpin anthems included. The moving title track and the closing ghost story, “El Fantasma,” are obvious highlights and if you want uptempo, “Duele” pushes the melancholy aside for one of the group’s best rave-ups. Otherwise, prepare for a strong but more subdued and homesick album from Durango’s finest.