Texas Towns & Tex-Mex Sounds

Los Texmaniacs are one of the most accomplished contemporary Tejano bands. Their leader, Max Baca, plays the bajo sexto with the rhythmic authority of an old pro, coming down hard on the thumping two-step rhythms of conjunto and embellishing slower numbers with dexterous fingerpicking. Texas Towns and Tex Mex Sounds is Los Texmaniacs' second album for the Smithsonian Folkways imprint, and it's every bit as winning as its predecessor, Borders y Bailles. That album was so widely feted that it netted Los Texmaniacs a much-deserved Grammy, but Texas Towns may just better it. Texas Towns manages to convey Los Texmaniacs’ boundless love for the traditions of conjunto and norteño without sounding like an academic exercise. Indeed, Texas Towns conveys a real sense of the breadth of Tejano musical culture. It includes a nod toward the influence of country music in the form of an ambling cover of Ernest Tubb’s classic “Waltz Across Texas,” and it enlivens boleros, redovas, and waltzes with bluesy flourishes and soulful accents.