25 Bandazos de Pequeños Músical, Vol. 2 / 25 Bandazos de Pequenos Musical, Vol. 2

La Banda Pequeños Musical are a veteran outfit within the regional Mexican genre known as banda, and while their name reflects the fact that they started out as something of a novelty act, featuring young musicians under the direction of songwriter/producer Rogelio Garcia, they have since grown up and undergone numerous lineup changes, and now travel under the title La Banda Mas Romantica de America (The Most Romantic Band In America). On this disc, they really work that angle, ignoring the more upbeat side of their sound (they dabble in cumbia and even funk/R&B sounds, along with the usual polka-like banda rhythm) and concentrating on soppy ballads like "Mujer Infiel," "Sueños," and "Romantico Incurable." Throughout their career, La Banda Pequeños Musical have thrown sonic surprises at the listener, adding ultra-romantic crooning, weirdly '80s synth lines, and even electric guitar solos to the traditional banda formula of keyboards, simple drum patterns, and multiple horns. Still, every song stays under four minutes, and — on this compilation, anyway — always seems built for slow dancing. This release is half of a matched set, and its title is somewhat misleading: only if you also purchase Vol. 1 (as a panel on the cover advises) do you get a total of 25 songs; Vol. 2 only contains 12 tracks. These discs are low-budget offerings; the CD booklet is just a single panel, with no musicians' credits or even photos of the group anywhere to be found. It's barebones in the extreme, but if this is your first experience with La Banda Mas Romantica de America, or banda in general, the appeal will still come through loud and clear.