La Conquistadora

In their first album in 21 years, the Krayolas sound rather like an updated version of the Sir Douglas Quintet in their combination of Tex-Mex rock and British Invasion influences, though there's more of a power pop tone to their combination. The similarity isn't entirely coincidental; Sir Douglas organist/pianist/accordionist Augie Meyers plays on the record, as well as writing or co-writing three of the tracks. Meyers originally wrote "Little Fox," in fact, for Doug Sahm to sing in the Sir Douglas Quintet back in 1967. Chief lead singer Hector Saldana wrote most of the songs, however, and while some of these are the love scenarios common to the genre, there are more unusual subjects like Father Francisco Geronimo (in the title track), the shock of reading a death notice for an old friend ("Catherine"), and the cruises of a survivor of the early rock & roll era ("Nolan Street Bridge"). There's also sometimes more of a Merseybeat feel than even the Sir Douglas Quintet allowed, particularly in Meyers' "What You Gonna Do for Love" and "We've Got a Secret," though the Spanish-language "Little Fox" is dominated by Meyers' trademark staccato organ style.