Cenzontles

For 20 years, the Bay Area’s Los Cenzontles (the Mockingbirds) has been building on a foundation of traditional Mexican folk music, incorporating elements of blues and rock into the mix until something new emerged. And if that sounds uncannily like the story of Los Lobos, now you know why that group’s guitarist, David Hidalgo, as well as roots legend Taj Mahal, are co-credited on this album that explores the dreams and tribulations the immigrants face at a time when that story needs to be told as often as possible. These songs aren’t heavy-handed but they are poignant; they also rock hard and never lose their groove. Sung alternately in Spanish and English, not so much vacillating between cultures as fusing them, American Horizon feels like America’s future.