Cafe Tacvba

This Mexico City quartet isn't just one of the more daring and creative bands of the rock en espanol movement, it is one of the more daring and creative bands to come out of any country during the alternative-rock boom of the 1990s. Cafe Tacuba's idiosyncratic collision of modern pop styles (from rock to hip-hop and electronica) with Latin folk traditions (including mariachi, ranchera, tejano, banda, and samba) is unlike anything in rock's rich, colorful history. Despite Cafe Tacuba's eclecticism and innovative use of instrumental textures, this music doesn't come off as schizophrenic. The group's distinctive sound is funneled through the grainy vocals of dynamic frontman Ruben Albarran, who sings with a bratty punk sneer at one moment and a gentle coo the next.

After forming in the late 1980s, Cafe Tacuba released its self-titled debut on WEA Latina. On that album, the band did what many Mexican rock acts of the time were doing: mixed elements of British and U.S. rock, new wave, ska, funk, and hip-hop with Latin styles and lyrics sung in Spanish. But Cafe Tacuba's interpretations of Anglo pop didn't sound as dated and copycatted as the music of fellow Mexican rockers such as Mana or Caifanes. Re was an ambitious leap forward for Cafe Tacuba. The band continued experimenting with musical textures inspired by rock pioneers such as the Beatles, PiL, the Pixies, and even Ministry. The sensational Re set the tone for the band's eclectic stretches on subsequent albums. Avalancha de Exitos is a transitional collection that pays cockeyed tribute to an array of Latin artists with inventive interpretations of some unlikely hits. Cafe Tacuba puts cello and a sizzling techno foundation to the Mexican rock band Botellita de Jerez's "Alarmala de Tos," a bright violin to Dominican merengue superstar Juan Luis Guerra's "Ojala Que Llueva Cafe," and a loopy indie-rock feel to "Como Te Extrano Mi Amor" by Mexican pop crooner Leo Dan.

As inventive as Cafe Tacuba had already proved to be, no one could have predicted the ambitious sound of the double-disc Reves/Yosoy, a gorgeous fusion of styles that includes one disc of song-based pop and rock and another of instrumental music. Collaborating with New York contemporary-classical ensemble the Kronos Quartet, the Reves disc flows from minimalist soundscapes that conjure the film scores of Ennio Morricone to clattering electronica and musique concrete.

When Cafe Tacuba switched from WEA to MCA, the band not only got better North American distribution but also delivered its most focused album to date. That's not to say Cuatro Caminos isn't equally as eclectic as anything the band had done before. Working with producers Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips) and Andrew Weiss (Ween), as well as longtime cohorts Gustavo Santaolalla and Anibal Kerpel, Caminos careens from the brutish postrock swagger of "Eo" and "Recuerdo Prestado" to the hypnotic melodicism of "Eres" and the Beatles/ZeppelinÐstyle Middle Eastern touches in "Hoy Es." An absolute beauty.

The four-song Vale Callampa is an odd but delightful tribute to the Chilean band Los Tres and includes the Brian Wilson-inspired harmonies of "Olor a Gas." Tiempo Transcurrido: The Best of Cafe Tacuba is the band's contract-ending compilation for WEA, collecting the Latin American hits from its first four albums; it's an excellent place to begin a journey into the music of this outstanding band. (MARK KEMP)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide