It figures that matter-of-fact polyglots like Y La Bamba would vibe with producer Steve Berlin of matter-of-fact polyglots Los Lobos, who warms up Bamba's folk-rocking second record. Frontwoman Luz Elena Mendoza can warble tremulously like a Latina Joanna Newsom, then let rip a robust alt-country holler not unlike that of Neko Case, who joins the band on the title track. Mendoza crafts massed harmonies with co-writer Paul Cameron on "Moral Panic." On "Michoacan," a brisk mariachi-scented party jam, she sings of "dias de la cocaina," "dinero," and "la iglesia catolica." It's an American vision any gringo will recognize. 

Listen To Y La Bamba's "Court The Storm":

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• Photos: Random Notes

“Let My Love Open the Door”

A peppy, hopeful love song, "Let My Love Open the Door" became a U. S. Top Ten hit for Pete Townshend in 1980, anchored by the kind of repeating synthesizer figures that he'd used in some of the Who's recordings in the previous decade. Although Townshend brushed the song off as "just a ditty" in Rolling Stone shortly after its release, in 1996 he revealed it was about love of the holiest sort. "It's supposed to be about the power of God's love," he remarked. "That when you're in difficulty, whether it's major or minor, God's love is always there for you."